While Others Were Left Breathless
by Lux's Sister
Summary: Some carried on. Kira Narro, padawan of the now-extinct Jedi Order and undercover agent, never thought she would work with a crew of noble thieves. However, Kira and the Onderon con men have one common enemy: the Zygerrian slave empire. [Continuous for both While Others and Eyes Open. Kira Narro belongs to MusicKeeper]
1. Stealing Malagan Market

**WHILE OTHERS WERE LEFT BREATHLESS**

...

 **Explanation of the AU**

This story is continuous in both the While Others and Eyes Open universes. If you have not read either one of these series, please refer to the entries below.

 **Eyes Open:** Property of MusicKeeper, the Eyes Open saga follows the adventures of Kira Narro, the second padawan of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Born a slave on the planet Zygerria, Kira was taken to the Jedi Temple at the age of eight and entered the Bergruufta clan. During her training, Kira befriended two fellow younglings named Cadena (property of katierosefun) and Caleb Dume.

Assigned to Obi-Wan Kenobi, Kira had an eventful padawanship, during which she went undercover as Senator Breemu of Humbarine, participated in a battle at Kamino, and grew closer to Caleb than ever while stranded with him and his master. Her friendship with Cadena strengthened as well, even as it came to light that her friend had married against the Jedi Code and given birth to a son.

Happy times couldn't last forever, though: Kira barely survived Order 66 and went into hiding with Ahsoka Tano, Lux Bonteri, and Cadena's family on Onderon. Cadena became seriously ill, and in light of the Jedi Purge, had lost the will to live. Though Kira and the others made their best effort, Cadena died shortly after arriving on Onderon, leaving behind her husband and son, who she named Anakin. After her death, Obi-Wan Kenobi left for Tatooine, leaving Kira alone once again.

 **While Others:** The story of what would have happened had several characters who appear to have died had been saved by a program called the Lazarus Project. Meant to be a PR device in the wake of Order 66, some of the project's victims included Lux Bonteri's parents and Steela Gerrera.

After Steela's rescue and the reunion of the Bonteri family, the project was disbanded but to little avail. Order 66 occurred and forced the rebels into hiding. With no legitimate source of income, the rebels were forced to become a team of con men: a mastermind (Lux Bonteri), grifter (Sierra Bonteri), thief (Steela Gerrera), protector (Saw Gerrera), hacker (Hutch St. James), and auxiliary members Mina Bonteri, General Tandin, Hutch's wife Hero St. James and adopted daughter Katooni, and Captain Rex. Shortly after, Ahsoka and Lux welcomed their son, Tavin Bonteri, to the galaxy.

After a routine con went horribly wrong, Sierra Bonteri's alias fell apart and she was captured by the Empire. She found herself in the hands of the rebels' archrival, sadistic prison warden Peter Torrance, better known as Tor. The other rebels scrambled to rescue her (thwarting a plot to force Katooni into the Inquisition in the process), but by the time they did Sierra had gone into shock and hung near death. The others managed to save her, and Tor was jailed for his many crimes.

This story takes place three years after MusicKeeper's "Safe and Sound," and one month after "While Others Fought for Justice"

Now without further ado, I present the story.

 **CHAPTER ONE – STEALING MALAGAN MARKET**

"Bread, blue milk, and ration bars."

Saw runs his finger down the grocery list on the battered piece of flimsy. "Bread, blue milk, ration bars, eggs, jogans, shaak steaks – what is Hero cooking? A ten course meal?"

"Just get the food." Steela growls and stalks over to a merchant selling baked goods.

"Fine, sis." Saw grumbles. "Be like that. You go on ahead and be grumpy and go get the bakery bread. I guess I'll get the shaak steaks.

"I like shaak steaks better." He mutters to himself, trying to mollify his own annoyance by pretending to add to Steela's. Saw figured out a long time ago that this strategy works the best.

It's not like he can blame Steela for all of it, he reasons as he buys the steaks and places them in his shopping sack. She and Ahsoka haven't been getting a lot of sleep in the past few weeks, between a teething baby Tavin and a restless Sierra. Luckily, Tav's little tooth bud finally popped through his gum and Sierra's been able to sleep through the night.

Saw wanders over to another stall to buy the fruits and vegetables they need to make Tav's baby mash. "I'll take a bunch of carrots," he says. "A sack of apples, some jogans, and one of those squash thingies." He gestures to the dark green squash that he can't remember the name of.

"Acorn squash," the old woman running the stall informs him as she takes his credits. "It's called acorn squash."

"All I know is that my friend's kid eats it." Saw mutters. "Thanks. Have a nice day."

He looks around the market, trying to spot Steela or something else he needs. He catches the sight of his sister's hair bopping to another stall, but then he blinks and Steela's melted into the crowd again.

 _Thieves,_ he curses himself. _They're always doing that disappearing act._ He fails to recall that he, too, is a thief. Instead of chasing after Steela, he decides to stay put and keep up with the shopping; his sister will have to find him sometime.

A young girl wearing an Imperial Academy uniform crosses on the other side of the market and rests her satchel on a stack of crates, absently wiping the sweat from her forehead with her cap. Saw grimaces. Unifar bless it, this girl can't be much older than Sierra and she's already sucked into the Imperial machine. In a way, he likes Stormtroopers more. He can fight them, but cadets? Cadets still have a little youth, a little innocence left in them that the Empire can't wait to squander but Saw can't bring himself to.

A speeder goes by, momentarily blocking his view of the cadet, and Saw blinks.

His eyes have got to be playing tricks on him; they just have to!

The cadet stands, shoulders pulled forward demurely, and walks off.

 _It is!_

Saw shoves his way down the street, yelling "excuse me" every two seconds until he manages to cut the cadet off on a side street.

"Hi," he says, leaning against a corner both to look suave and to catch his breath.

"Hello," the cadet says crisply and tries to step around him, but Saw blocks her path.

The cadet stiffens and draws herself up to look taller. "I'm on Imperial business. Let me through."

"You were part of a very well-done drop there." Saw says. "You placed whatever was in that satchel on the stack of crates, a speeder goes by, and the satchel's gone. But even though you're wearing that cadet uniform -."

The cadet's gaze drops from his.

"Something tells me you weren't in on it by choice."

"I did it for my family." The girl defends herself.

"Your family?" Saw prompts. "They told you if you didn't do what they said, they were going to hurt your family?"

The girl shakes her head. "Not hurt. It's complicated; very complicated."

Saw reaches out a tentative hand to touch her shoulder, but the girl recoils as if his hand is red-hot.

"What's your name?"

"Eva," the girl clears her throat. "Eva Isis."

"Eva, listen to me," he says. "Whatever they swore they'd do, my friends are here to make sure it does not happen. But if we're going to help you, then I need to know what was in that satchel they stole from you."

Eva considers.

"All right, sit down. My friends and I are going to help you, but first I need to know what was in the satchel." Saw prompts.

"Intel," Eva admits. "Four data chips filled with Imperial intel."

 **STEELA**

"Are you crazy? She's an Imperial cadet!"

I gesture to Eva, still sitting on her crate a dozen feet away.

"She's a turncoat." Saw explains under his breath. "She stole data chips from the Empire and was going to give them away, but they found her and made her give them back."

I decide not to mention that dead-drops aren't the Empire's style. They prefer the dead _body_ method. "How do you know they made her give them back?"

"She said they'd hurt her family if she didn't comply and go back to the Academy like nothing is wrong. You know how the Empire operates, Stee. They can't have one cadet going rogue because it might give the others ideas."

"You're just distracted because she's pretty, aren't you?"

Saw stares at me. "No!"

"Uh-huh. Sure."

Now that I look again, the cadet is pretty but she isn't quite Saw's type. Good. "Look, if she had those chips, then force only knows what else she can get her hands on. Hutch does what he can, but he can't eavesdrop like a cadet. If we help her, it's only a matter of time before she comes to our side."

I gives Eva a good up-and-down with me eyes. The cadet's posture is proper, but not regulation straight, she sags a little. And to me, that's a good thing.

But you don't live for long as a thief by trusting easily, and I'm not about to start now. I raise my wrist comm to my lips and select Hutch's frequency.

"Hutch, I need an immediate background check on an Imperial cadet named Eva Isis."

Hutch gives the verdict ten minutes later, after hearing the story about the data cards.

" _It's clean, but not too clean."_ He says. _"She was homeschooled so I don't have any formal records, but she's always shown an aptitude for critical thinking and philosophy. That's a good sign for us."_

"Should we bring her aboard?"

" _We have two Jedi, a professional muscle head, a clone captain, a General in the militia, and a bunch of former rebels. Yeah, I think we can handle one lowly cadet."_

I growl, but he's right. "Fine. We'll be at the ship in a few minutes."

Further down the alley, Saw waves Eva over. "Our friends are going to take a deeper look at your case. Come with us."

Eva readjusts her cap. "Thank you so much, Saw, but I should be getting-."

"They won't be the wiser." I tell her. It's the truth because with the HoloNet on his side, school attendance records are no match for the Cashier from Hell.

A solemn walk later, our sorry-looking freighter looms into sight. The boarding ramp descends and Sierra stands at the top like a cake topper. A dark-haired, slightly ragged-looking cake topper.

"What took you guys so long?" she shouts down. "Hero is going crazy. What Ahsoka said about pregnancy brain is real, I swear. It's like it'll be the end of the world if you bought pink jogans and not purple ones."

Saw looks into the bag where he just bought pink jogans.

I jerk my thumb toward Eva. "Sorry, Sierra. We got a little sidetracked."

Eva waves. "Eva Isis. Nice to meet you."

Sierra walks down the ramp and extends her hand to shake with a single, firm pump.

"I'm Sierra." She says with a miniscule toss of her head. "And the pleasure is all mine."

I share a look with Saw, who sends the same one back. Something just isn't gelling in this conversation.

"Why don't you come in and sit down?" Sierra asks.

That's when it snaps into place in my head. At home, especially when Mina isn't around, Sierra is informal as all-get-out. She slouches. She complains. She steals my clothes. She eats and drinks in bed.

 _Sierra_ may not talk like this, but her _aliases_ do.

I understand that Sierra's been a little discombobulated as of late, but this is extreme. Why is she grifting at home, with Saw and I right here?

Answer: She feels threatened. Alas, this isn't an unusual occurrence.

"Right," I agree and place a hand on Eva's back to give her a gentle push. Her muscles tense just the tiniest bit, but it's enough.

What really sells it is the way Eva drifts at exactly the right distance behind Sierra as she leads her into the ship.

…..

"They're both grifting!"

Hutch stares at me. "Who's both grifting?"

"Sierra and Eva. Both of them are grifters!" I hiss. "They both act like Sierra on the job. Who is this girl?"

"Steela, I checked the records. Birth certificate checks out, homeschooling checks out, medical records check out, it all checks out. She's Eva Isis!"

"I know you checked that, but did you check to make sure that Eva Isis isn't also somebody else?"

Hutch stares at his screen for a second, and then starts typing.

"I'm checking all births for female human-Togruta hybrids within a month of Eva's birth date." He says. "She can't be much older of younger than what she says she is. Do you know which parent is the Togruta and which is the human?" I shake my head. "All right, then I'll narrow the parameters to babies with blue eyes." That's still a lot of babies. Hybrids may be rare, but blue eyes are a very popular Togruta trait.

"This is going to take a while," I notice. One of Hutch's alert lights goes off and he selects it.

His eyes widen. "What the heck?"

"What do you mean, what the heck?"

He points to the screen. "You said Eva stole a bunch of data chips? The Alliance just picked up a package with four data chips from the market where you met Eva. Does that sound like a coincidence?"

"What do you think, that she's a double agent?"

"She might," Hutch worries.

"Whatever she is, you need to find out fast. She and Sierra are going to tear each other to bits if you don't."

Ahsoka pops her head around the corner, Tav on her hip. "Who's Sierra going to tear to bits?"

I roll my eyes. "Some chick named Eva Isis who may or may not be a double agent, and Saw was dumb enough to let on board the ship!"

Ahsoka's eyes widen. "Eva Isis? Hold the phones."

…..

"How do you know this person?" I demand as Ahsoka and Lux rush down the hall.

"It's a long story," Lux says and opens the common room door. In the room, Eva sits on the couch, Katooni on the other end, with Sierra placed between them like a blocking figure.

"Kira?" Ahsoka asks.

Eva's head snaps up, and she freezes.

The room fills with silence, until it's broken by one phrase.

"Excuse me?"

Mina Bonteri and Hero St. James fill the doorway, literally. When she's angry, Hero puffs up to positively planet-sized.

Hero points at Eva with a venomous gaze. "Who are you and what are you doing near my daughter?"

"Okay!" Ahsoka squeaks, sensing just how far downhill this can go. "Everyone needs to calm down right now. Including you, Kira."

"Kira?" Saw echoes.

"Yes," Ahsoka says. "Everyone, I want you to meet Kira Narro, former Jedi Padawan. Kira, meet my family."

"Padawan?" Sierra repeats.

One of Kira's eyebrows goes up. "Family?"

Ahsoka and Lux nod.

"It's a long story, guys." Lux says. "You'd all better sit down."

 **A/N: Hello, everyone. I am back, and this time with an Eyes Open/While Others collaboration with author MusicKeeper. As I stated in the blurb, Kira Narro is her property and I'd like to thank her for both allowing me to bring Kira into the story and for the massive amount of help she gave in writing her.**

 **Thanks to MusicKeeper's continuity checks for Kira, I can declare that this story is canon for both While Others and Eyes Open. If you have read one, you don't necessarily have to read the other to understand the story, though I highly recommend her work and found Kira's story to be very enjoyable.**

 **So, what were your thoughts on this chapter? Please leave them in the review box on your way out!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	2. Enter Kira Narro

**CHAPTER TWO – ENTER KIRA NARRO**

 **SIERRA**

If I hadn't been raised by Mina Bonteri, and if Eva/Kira didn't look so shocked, I would have crowed "I knew it!"

What can I say? I'm a grifter; we can detect our own kind a mile away. I knew what Eva was doing the instant words came out of her mouth. She caught onto me just as fast.

Sharp handshakes, cold tones, stiff stances, formal diction, and stilted speech completed the package. I made sure to keep Saw close and move between Eva and Katooni in case things got ugly, and Eva was constantly looking for an escape route.

The tension evaporated when Ahsoka and Lux rushed into the room, calling her "Kira."

In its place is mere confusion.

"Ahsoka?" Kira asks, pointing at her. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm with my family." Ahsoka says, gesturing to all of us. "We've been on this ship for a long time." She playfully nudges Lux. "Lux here has gotten handier over time."

In the doorway, Mom bristles. "Lux, what does she mean by that?"

"You two know each other?" Kira asks, eyes shifting between Lux and me.

Lux clears his throat. "Kira, this is my mother Mina and my sister Sierra. They were occupied during our last meeting?"

"Last meeting?"

"Ahsoka and Lux helped some friends and I escape Order 66." Kira explains. "We stayed on Onderon for a while until we had to leave."

"When did this happen?" I ask.

"Before we stole the ship," Lux explains. "While you were doing to prep work, Ahsoka and I went to secure a place for Kira and her friends to hide and while we were there we helped with a new baby. It was good practice for Tav."

"Just wait until Rex gets back." Ahsoka gushes. "He'll be ecstatic."

On Ahsoka's hip, Tav waves his chubby arms. "Ma-ma, down."

Ahsoka sets him on the floor. "Oh gosh, I almost forgot. Kira, meet Tavin Bonteri. We call him Tav."

Kira leans down to get a better look at my nephew. "Hello, little one," she says, holding her finger out for him to grab. She looks up at Ahsoka and Lux, and she doesn't look happy, though why I can't imagine.

"His birthday is in a month." Ahsoka explains, watching hawk-eyed as Tav pushes himself up onto his feet so he can toddle around.

"Can we get back to the task at hand, please?" Hutch asks, crossing his arms. "You know, the part where we have an utter stranger on our ship, and she's apparently not an utter stranger to everyone else?"

"Where are my manners? Forgive me." Kira stands up, cap in her hands. She's nervous; her fingers have crumpled the cap up. "Hello. I'm Kira Narro, Padawan and member of the Jedi Order."

"If you're a Jedi, then why are you in a cadet uniform?" Katooni asks innocently.

"I'm undercover." Kira forces a tight-lipped smile. "There's no better place to glean Imperial intel than straight from their ranks. I'm studying to be an officer."

"You didn't ping off any _Imperial_ daatbases," Hutch says. "But when I ducked into _Senator Organa's_ , your name lit up. According to him, you're working as a rebel spy?"

"That's the long and short of it."

"Imperial Navy," Hero studies Kira's uniform. "Good choice. I'm Hero St. James, Katooni's mom."

"She was also crazy enough to marry me." Hutch says proudly, folding his arms. "Hutch St. James."

"The Cashier from Hell?"

Hutch stammers. "Y-yeah, that's me. How did you know that?"

"They taught about hackers like you at the Academy." Kira says, smile becoming a little less forced. "They still can't figure out how to stop your software."

Hutch smiles broadly. "Nobody can stop me."

The only reason the Empire can't pin us down is because Hutch changes everything constantly and shuffles his signals across the galaxy, but Kira doesn't need to know that. The compliment has sufficiently inflated Hutch's ego.

Ahsoka ignores it. "Kira, what kind of assignment are you on?"

Kira's face twitches as if she's tasted something bitter. "It's not pretty, Ahsoka."

"Nothing involving the Empire is," Steela says sourly and sits down.

Kira runs a hand through her blonde hair. "I'm working on an assignment for Senator Organa, who's not pleased with the slavery bill the Senate recently passed." Her nose crinkles. "I, too, am not pleased with this bill."

"Not very many are," Mom spits. Once she caught wind of that bill, she was on the comlink with Senator Organa yelling about it in full Bonscary mode. I'm not sure what Senator Organa's reaction was, but I'd bet my left shoe it was somewhere between "disturbed" and "terrified".

"Ever since the bill passed, King Atai Molec of Zygerria has been building up his empire, which was impressive to begin with" Kira continues. "Slave auctions are more successful than ever, and where there's demand -."

"There has to be supply," Ahsoka finishes woefully.

"Hundreds of thousands of innocent beings have already been kidnapped." Kira says, eyes narrowing. "Senator Organa sent me to gain intel from my superiors to find out if Atai was somehow breaking the fine print. I simply need to find him a foothold so he can begin working on repealing the bill."

"Was there anything on those chips?"

"Some, but not enough to dent Atai."

"I've researched him." I say. "Atai Molec went behind Queen Miraj's back, got her 'killed' with some help from the Lazarus Project, and proceeded to take the throne with zero problems. He's smart, calculating, and if he has a heart it's made of nitrogen."

Kira stiffens and purses her lips, clenching her cap so tightly her fingers turn white. _Might be a good idea to drop the topic, Sierra._

Lux wrings his hands.

"Everyone, how expensive do you think it is to run a slave empire?"

"What?" Saw asks.

"Well, you have to feed and clothe the slaves," Lux says. "Then there's security to worry about; those shock collars can't be cheap. You have to pay all those guards and buy the slaves from the slave catchers, not to mention real estate and lawyers to examine purchases, and you've run up a pretty hefty bill."

"That's your mastermind face." Ahsoka says. "What are you thinking?"

"I have a few ideas," Lux says. "But they revolve around one central thought. Atai Molec has too much money, and the Alliance could use some more."

 _Too much money? Oh, I'm liking the way this sounds more and more!_

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Steela asks, smile pulling at her cheeks.

"Probably," Lux says. "Everyone, let's go steal a slave empire."

 **KIRA**

"But I don't want to sleep in Dad's and your room!"

"It's not open for discussion, Katooni." Hero says as she strips the sheets from Katooni's trundle bed. "Kira needs a place to sleep tonight and you can still fit in with me and Dad."

"Why doesn't Kira take Sierra's bed?" Katooni whines.

"Because Sierra's doctor said that she's not allowed to sleep anywhere but in her own bed." Hero argues. "You're sleeping with us and that's final. Now get your pajamas and let's go."

Katooni grumbles, opens a drawer and pulls out a set of pink flannel pajamas, giving her mom the stink-eye the whole way.

I smile at her antics. I've always enjoyed working with younglings. "What clan were you?" I ask, deciding to lighten the mood. "I was a Bergruufta."

Katooni brightens at the mention of the Jedi Order. "I was in Wolf Clan. Master Sinube helped us with a lot of our lessons."

"Master Sinube? I remember him." I grin. Master Sinube used to help teach us lightsaber forms. He loved younglings to the core.

"I remember some Bergruufta friends I had too. They always shared: candy, holobooks, their beds…"

Katooni looks like she wants to say more, but Hero, wise to her daughter's scheme, clears her throat and jerks her head in a _let's get going_ gesture. Katooni shoots one last look back to her trundle bed and walks out the door.

"You have quite the con artist on your hands." I comment.

"We taught her well," Steela says.

Sierra takes the sheets from Hero and gives them a good hard shake. Tiny flecks of something dark flutter to the floor.

"Yeah, sorry about this." She apologizes. "We caught her eating cookies in bed yesterday."

"I've slept in worse places." I say as I help her fit the sheets around the mattress.

Steela digs through her drawer and hands me a T-shirt and pair of shorts. "Refresher's down the hall. I'd get there before Lux uses up all the hot water. You can borrow my soap, but whatever you do don't touch anything of Hero's." Her voice drops "Hero isn't the politest person, but now that she's pregnant it's ten times worse."

I swallow hard "Hero's things are off-limits. Got it."

"Great," Sierra says and pulls the blanket onto the bed. "By the time you're out we'll probably have dinner ready. I think Tandin's cooking."

Steela shrugs. "Better than Lux."

I wince. When Lux tried to cook dinner after Order 66, he lit the stove on fire.

That's not an experience I wish to repeat.

…

I barely managed to get into the refresher before Lux. He was coming down the hallway with his shower caddy when I shut the door.

As I emerge with towel-dried hair and my uniform in a bundle, the sound of whispering comes from down the hallway.

"You're sure that's her?" a familiar, gruff voice asks.

"We're all sure," Ahsoka replies. "It may have been a while since I saw her last, but it's her. It's Kira."

That's when I remember just how familiar that voice is. I'd heard hundreds just like it ever since the war began.

I turn on my heel and jog toward the source of the voice just as the common room door opens.

The clone in the doorway raises his eyebrows. "Commander Narro?"

I may not have known him as well as Cody, but right now he's the most beautiful sight in the galaxy. "Rex!"

Rex stands there with his arms at his sides.

"Oh, go on and hug each other." Ahsoka snorts. "I know you want to."

I roll my eyes and hold my hand out to greet the good captain. I'm relieved to see that he wasn't brainwashed by the Order. "It's good to see you, Captain."

"It's been a long time, Commander Narro."

Before I can instruct him to call me Kira, a tiny warm person presses against me.

"Hug," Tav says simply and squeezes my leg.

I reach a hand down to give him a gentle squeeze. "All right, little one. A hug for you."

Ahsoka bends down to guide her son away. "Tav, let's give Kira and Uncle Rex a minute."

"Oh no, he's fine." And he is. Tavin's a sweet, well-mannered youngling, and the dark hair on his head looks like another baby I knew.

Cadena's baby.

I pull back and Tav, sensing that hug time is over, toddles away babbling about juice.

"He's adorable."

Ahsoka nods. "Thank you. When he's a little older we'll have to start force training him. Somehow I have a feeling that'll be more intense than potty training."

I laugh. "Of course. At least it won't smell."

 _"Ahem?"_

In the doorway, Lux clears his throat.

"I hate to break up this moment," he says. "But if you two are done chatting, then dinner's ready. Also, we have a con to plan."

 **A/N: Now that Kira is fully introduced, it's time to get down to stealing! Does anyone else remember Atai Molec from the Zygerria Arc? If anyone deserves to be robbed blind, it's him.  
**

 **Thank you to starwarshobbitfics, Rose Ravenclaw, and MusicKeeper for your reviews. And speaking of which, please review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	3. Open Closet, Remove Skeleton

**CHAPTER THREE – OPEN CLOSET, REMOVE SKELETON**

 **STEELA**

For a former king and a general, Tandin's a pretty good cook.

I sit down between Saw and Hero and stare at my plate. Shaak meat and vegetables; standard fare for whenever Tandin's in the kitchen. Hero's recently been too nauseous to cook, so I foresee many such meals in our future.

Mina leads the group in a Unifras blessing (during which Kira bows her head but doesn't say the words) and we dig into our meals.

Kira eats delicately, like the well-mannered Jedi she is. On my immediate right, my brother shoves food into his mouth.

"All right, so we need a plan." Lux brings up, probably desperate to cut the silence at the table. "Are any ideas coming to mind?"

"It doesn't make sense." I muse. "If the Empire went to all the trouble of the Lazarus Project to mollify its citizens, when why do something as extreme as legalizing slavery?"

"Money," Kira says. "Revenue. When the Empire came into power, they put a tax on anything to be sold or traded. The more items for sale being circulated -."

"The more taxes generated, and more money for the Empire."

Kira tightens her grip on her fork. "Bingo."

Mina makes a disgusted sound in the back of her throat.

"There's one surefire way to keep out of the circle, and that's enrolling in the Academy." Kira explains. "If someone tries to sell a member of the Imperial military and gets caught, they've sunk in the quicksand big time. Fines, imprisonment -."

"We could take it the whole nine yards." Lux says.

"You forgot something. If we did that, we'd have to convince Molec to sell a member of the Imperial military. Not just Sierra with a wig and an alias, but an actual, genuine member of the Imperial military." Hutch says. "If I were Molec, I would run background checks on the slaves to make sure I didn't accidentally snare a few soldiers. An alias wouldn't hold up against that type of investigation. We need an actual soldier."

Everyone's gaze goes to Kira.

"Will a cadet work?" Hero asks.

Kira grips the edge of the table and purses her lips, but before she can speak Ahsoka bursts in. "After what happened last time, I don't recommend anyone going undercover as a slave. We can't afford another rescue mission, especially on Zygerria. It's a good thought, Kira, but unfortunately we need a different one."

"That means we're back to the old idea." Lux says. "If the Empire can levy taxes on slaves, then slavery facilities fall under imperial building codes, regulations, and all types of bureaucracy that's just waiting to be exploited. Unfortunately, I don't know much about them."

"We need more information." Ahsoka mulls. "Kira, did the Empire offer any courses concerning slavery or any other type of containment?"

Kira thinks for a moment. "No, I don't believe so. Not in so many words, anyway. The Academy did host a speaker a month ago by the name of Torrance, a prison warden. If I never see him again, it'll be too soon."

Sierra chokes on her food. Mina pounds her back to clear her throat.

"Tor? What did he talk about?" Sierra rasps when she's able to breathe again.

"Interrogation tactics. I was relieved he was called away during the middle of the speech; the man has no heart whatsoever." Kira glances sideways. "Why do you ask?"

I can practically see the blood cells draining from Sierra's face, like grains of sand in some sadistic hourglass.

"Sierra, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

Sierra nearly knocks her chair over getting up and darts from the room.

"I'll handle it," Lux volunteers and sprints after her.

Mina rests her forehead in her palm. "It's not your fault, Kira. It's something that happened to her a few months ago. You said Torrance was called away during the middle of the lecture?"

"Yes. I assumed he had a prisoner arrive at his facility." Kira says, brow lifted with slight confusion.

Mina sighs. "Well, considering the timing, I can safely guess that this prisoner was Sierra."

Kira's brow falls as realization hits. I can only imagine all the ugly lessons Tor lectured to the cadets, probably using his most matter-of-fact voice to say such horrible things. After seeing the Lichtenberg figures on Sierra's arms, I would believe every word.

"Four days," I say hollowly. "It took four days for us to rescue her. The jerk knew just how to stall us too, he arranged for the Inquisition to kidnap Katooni."

Kira stares. "I didn't know."

"We understand," Ahsoka says. "But it would be wise to be quiet around Sierra for the next few hours."

As a response, Lux's (low, soothing) and Sierra's (high, panicked) voices come roughly around the area of the refresher, followed by the sound of vomiting.

I sigh, watching my sleep prospects fade before my very eyes.

"Kira, if you want we can drag the trundle bed into the common room. This isn't your burden."

"I'll be all right,"

"Are you sure? It isn't going to be very peaceful in there tonight." If that isn't an understatement, I don't know what is.

"I'm sure," Kira says. "Thank you for your consideration, but it shouldn't bother me."

 _Famous last words._ It's almost impossible to sleep when someone's having nightmares three feet from you.

…

Four hours later Mina nudges the bedroom door open.

"How are you doing?" she whispers.

Kira stirs in the trundle bed, but Sierra's sleeping like a log. "I think she's finally settled down. Kira seems okay."

"That's good," Mina whispers, running her eyes up and down Sierra and then Kira. "Get me if you need anything. Good night, Steela."

"Good night."

I roll over in bed, thanking goodness that the night is turning out quieter than I imagined. Maybe Lux gave Sierra a sleeping draught. I know Tandin keeps them somewhere in his room for those days when Tav would cry all night. I could hear the lucky duck snoring all the way from my room.

Shift. Toss.

I squeeze my eyes shut and pray, pray like never before that Kira's just turning over in bed. We'll be on Zygerria tomorrow, I need my sleep. I've already sat through one lecture from Tandin about proper sleep habits and I don't want to do it again.

 _"Aieee!"_

Summoning the absolute last dregs of my strength I vault out of bed, land with one foot on the floor and the other on something soft, and close the distance to Sierra's bed.

"Hey, hey! Wake up."

Sierra startles, opens her eyes, and presses a hand to her face to stop any incipient tears.

"It's okay," I wrap my arms around her. "You're okay. You're going to be okay." Another thought pops up in mind. "Kira, did I just step on you?"

"Unfortunately," Kira winces, rubbing her leg.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to but my brain is fried right now."

"Has Lux come in to help?"

"Sometimes, but when Tav's teething he and Ahsoka have their hands just as full."

Kira gives us both a worried glance, like she's seen this same scenario before.

I fell asleep on Sierra's bed that night, the end products of the night being five hours of sleep and a bruise for Kira.

 **KIRA**

When I wake this morning, Steela lays sprawled across Sierra's bed, snoring.

I pick up my folded uniform, change in the refresher, and walk into the galley. I typically don't rummage through kitchens, but Ahsoka made it clear I was welcome to whatever I wanted and that her family usually didn't eat breakfast together. They likely have ration bars or something of the sort.

I open the door to find Sierra, alone, at the kitchen table.

She swallows. "Morning."

"Good morning." I walk over to the stove to inspect a bubbling pot. "Hot cereal?"

She nods. "I usually make a whole packet because the others eat it too. You're welcome to it if you want. If not, Hero keeps the cupboards pretty well stocked."

The Academy usually serves cereals in the morning. "Thank you," I say, as I fill the bowl. "Sierra, I'd like to apologize for last night. I didn't realize what happened to you -."

"It's all right." She interrupts. "Ahsoka asked a question and you answered. You didn't know. I'm not angry at you at all. It's just that - I really hoped he was one of a kind. It's pillow thinking, I know, but I hoped that he wouldn't pass on what he did."

"He didn't finish the presentation." I hope it puts her mind at ease.

"To pick me up from the guy who captured me," she forks her fingers through her cropped hair. "You know what really got to me? He used my real name. He called me Sierra." She shudders. _"Nobody_ calls me Sierra except the people on this ship. You understand, don't you?"

"I do." For those who live under an alias, your real name is sacred, something only given to a select few. When it's used to harm someone it becomes more than just a name, it's a betrayal of everything they trust.

"It was just a presentation, right? Did you have to take notes?"

Yes. "No."

If Sierra's realized my lie, she doesn't comment. "That makes me feel better. I'm sorry for keeping you up at night. Does your leg hurt?"

I rub my bruised thigh. Steela Gerrera is heavier than she looks and has very bony feet. "It doesn't hurt much."

"Steela's used to having Katooni in that bed, not someone your size." She shakes her head. "She stepped on Katooni once, and that was memorable."

"How so?"

Sierra smiles. "Hero blew in like a hurricane."

I wince in sympathy. I don't know Hero much at all, but so far she's the loudest and most impulsive of all the rebels. "I can't imagine that went well."

"Yeah, Hero takes some getting used to," she admits. "Whatever she thinks, she says. How she managed to hold down a waitressing job I have no idea."

"I knew a bartender on Onderon by the name of Tia. She spoke her mind as well, though she wasn't quite as," I search for the right word. "Severe."

Sierra nods. "That's classic Hero. I don't think anyone else has tried to take down an Inquisitor armed with only a bouquet of flowers."

I almost choke on my cereal. "She tried to fight an Inquisitor with _flowers?"_

"I wasn't there, but everyone else swears it happened."

The Academy mentioned the Inquisition once or twice, but rarely did they go into detail. All I can confirm is that the Inquisition is made up of force-sensitives tasked to hunt down the remaining Jedi and crush the rebellion. To fight one unarmed is lunacy at best, suicide at worst.

"How did she survive? Inquisitors are a force to be reckoned with."

"Saw tackled her before she could do anything."

That makes much more sense.

The door opens again and Ahsoka comes in with Tav. "Morning, girls."

"Good morning." I say and nod to her son. "Good morning, Tav."

This time, Tav ignores me in favor of pulling on Ahsoka's shirt and wailing "Maaa! Hungeee!"

"I know, I know." Ahsoka hoists Tav into his high chair and snaps the tray into place. "Will you give him some cereal while I purée the jogans?"

"Of course." I take a handful of cereal from the box and deposit it on Tav's tray, picking one up to hold in front of him. "Look, Tav. Mmm!"

Tav stops wailing, grabs the cereal, and sticks it in his mouth.

"Did you take care of babies at the Jedi Temple?" Sierra asks. "You're too good at this not to have done it before."

Ahsoka takes a sharp breath.

Sierra blinks. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. Do you want me to take over?"

I've crushed the piece of cereal in my hand to so much dust.

"I'm all right," I say, brush the dust off my hands and go back to my own breakfast, memories of a different baby churning in my head.

 **A/N: Poor Kira, and poor Sierra too. They just can't seem to stop accidentally striking each other's sensitive subjects.**

 **Thank you to MusicKeeper, McAwesome, and starwarshobbitfics for your reviews. And speaking of which, please review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	4. Where There's Smoke, There's Fire

**CHAPTER FOUR – WHERE THERE'S SMOKE, THERE'S FIRE**

 **LUX**

I tuck the back of my shirt into my pants.

"Ahsoka, you're sure we'll get by without having Zygerrian armor?" I whisper.

 _"You wouldn't have it anyway,"_ Ahsoka whispers. _"When my master wore it on our mission it drew attention to him. Outsiders don't wear Zygerrian armor."_

"If you say so."

Beside me, Saw clears his throat. "They won't look too hard. Atai's too busy to concern himself with us. He'll send a flunky at best."

I hope that's true. Saw and I have to walk through the markets to get to the palace. But unlike Malagan Markets, the wares aren't produce and handmade goods. They're sentient beings.

I force myself not to look and just to focus on the job. Saw sneers to himself to keep his anger in check.

In our earbuds, the rest of our team is fascinatingly closed-mouthed. I can only assume they're walking through more of the same.

 _Soon it'll be over, Lux. Soon Atai will be drowning in debt and some of these people will slip through the cracks in security._ I promise myself. _Ahsoka swore it. All we have to do is chip away at his wealth bit…by bit…by bit._

Saw and I step up to the palace gates, and a camera droid floats up to our eye level.

 _"Identify yourself,"_ It's pre-programmed voice orders.

I set my eyes on its photoreceptor. "Fire marshals."

"We're here for the fire inspection." Saw reports, folding his arms.

The droid levitates away and the gates open, revealing a mean-faced guard.

"Fire marshals." He half-snarls.

"That's us," Saw says and glances over to the guard station. "You got a cover for that wiring?"

"We do."

"Good," he replies through gritted teeth. "Put it on. Now take us into the buildings; we don't have all day."

…

"What is this carpet made of?" I ask.

The guard flounders for a second and then says "Synthetic fabric."

I bend down and touch the carpet. "Highly flammable. If a spark so much as hits it, then the whole floor will go up in flames." I made a note on my datapad.

"And this!" Saw pokes at the cover for an outlet with his stylus. "Are you actively trying to burn the place down? You can't have an outlet this close to the vent."

The guard can only stare at us. The vent and the outlet are a foot and a half apart.

"Lint!" Saw snaps as if that explains everything. "Lint is flammable, and the outlet can generate a spark. I'm gonna have to dock you."

This is the fifth "violation" Saw and I have written up today. All in all, the scam is going beautifully.

"This door frame is too narrow." I announce. "You need to expand it another six inches at the very least to be compliant."

The guard stares at us.

"Is there a problem?" Saw asks.

"Is this one of those hidden camera holo shows?"

"Why would you say that?"

The guard shuts his mouth and over the comm, my team erupts with laughter. I even hear Kira snicker through her temporary earbud.

"I think that concludes _this_ building." I say, consolidating all the citations on my datapad and scribbling down the fines. "The carpet will need to be torn up and replaced, the wiring redone, vent moved, the door widened, you'll have to change the baseboards and add a smoke alarm and more emergency lights."

" _Lux and Saw, I'm into the electrical system."_ Hutch says.

I open the door. "That goes for the whole building and every one like it. Now we just have to test the fire alarm."

" _On the count of three. One, two …three!"_

I pull the alarm and the sweet, sweet sound of silence fills my ears.

"What is this?"

The guard stands there, looking utterly defeated.

"Faulty fire alarm. You'll have to replace the system." Saw _tsks_ and taps out the bill on his datapad. "For your superiors. I expect this to be paid in the next few days."

The guard's jaw drops at the amount. "Fifty thousand credits in _fines?"_

"You have a week to make this place compliant, or they'll double." Saw announces. "Come on, Eric. We have other things to do."

I follow him out the door, leaving the guard to stand there holding the mother of all fire hazard citations.

" _How far do you think that'll sink them?"_ Hero asks through the comm.

"The renovations will clear a million, easily."

" _One million isn't enough."_ Kira whispers. _"Atai can replace that easily during one slave auction. If we're to destroy his empire financially, we need to take over-,"_ she does a few calculations. _"Ten million at the very least."_

Saw lets out a low whistle. "That's a lot of credits."

"That's why you're here, Kira. Are you and the others in position?"

" _We are."_

"Good, you all know what you're doing. Let's go steal the buyers."

 **AHSOKA**

Atai Molec's entertaining room buzzes with all sorts of high-class scum.

"Everyone here is either a current or potential buyer." Kira says. "Atai hosts these events to establish rapport with the clients so he can exploit it later when they purchase slaves. He'll offer them a pseudo-bargain and they'll walk away having spent more money than they intended."

I shudder internally at the thought of how Kira knows this.

"That means they're all loaded." Hero muses. "I'll take the guy in the corner, with the dark jacket."

Sierra's gaze flits around the room. "I don't like this. I recognize a few people in here – some of them are former marks!"

"You're older and you have a haircut. Stay away from them and work your magic. You'll be fine." I assure.

"If you say so," Sierra mumbles and walks off into the crowd, "accidentally" tripping over her feet and allowing herself to be steadied by a Theelin.

Steela shares a look with me. "Do you see the punch bowl?"

"Two o'clock. You should be able to get there without much trouble at all. And Steela," I lean in close to whisper in her ear. "I might need you to distract Atai."

Steela jerks back. "You want me to grift him? You're talking to the wrong person."

"I don't trust Hero to do it, he won't take Sierra seriously, and he knows Kira's and my faces." I nod slightly to let Kira know I won't go into any more detail than that. "It probably won't even happen. You'll just do your drop, work the crowd, and all will be well."

She checks the clutch purse she borrowed from Mina. "That's good. I don't want anything to crash and burn on this job." She says and strides purposefully to the punch bowl.

Kira straightens and faces me.

"Were they told anything?" she whispers.

I shake my head. "I didn't tell them about you and this place and they haven't asked. I haven't mentioned you and Master Kenobi or about Cadena, Caleb, or our other friends. Unless they paid Hutch off to do some spelunking, they don't know anything."

Kira purses her lips, whether it's a reaction to the place or the conversation I'm not sure. "I believe Sierra's suspicious at the very least. Steela might be as well."

"They might be, but I doubt they know anything. Senator Organa took care to bury your records; they'd need Hutch to open them, and he isn't one to pry needlessly. It takes up too much time and server space." Steela may have a tendency to pry, case in point being the never-to-be-mentioned-again Folic Acid Incident, but hacking and physical burglary are two very different fields. "Kira, about Cadena…"

Kira blinks hard. "Ahsoka, please don't mention her now. I can't think about her and be in the same room with Atai. It's too -."

"I understand," I interrupt before she starts to flounder for words, cry, or both. "I'll leave it be until we get back to the ship. But then we need to have a talk."

"That's acceptable," she squares her shoulders. "For now, what do I need to do?"

"Do you see that man in the blue robe?"

She follows my gaze. "The human standing next to the plant?"

"That one. I need you to direct him and his friends over to the punch bowl." In my peripheral vision, I see Steela pause near the punch bowl as if inspecting the appetizers available, then move on with a piece of fruit in her hands and something else disappearing into her pocketbook. I speak louder so the comm will pick up my words. "Sierra and Hero, move your men to the punch bowl. Kira, go pick one. Steela, where's Atai?"

" _He's not at the front of the room. I think I lost him."_

And then a lecherous voice picks up off her earbud _"Hello."_

" _Found him!"_

 **STEELA**

"Found him," I whisper into my earbud as I turn around with a fake smile on my face, the mark himself behind me.

" _All right, Steela."_ Ahsoka says, her tone belying her nervousness. _"Say hello and follow his lead. He objectifies women, so if you're submissive and passive he shouldn't notice anything."_

"Hello," I say through my smile, my voice so chipper it sounds like Katooni's.

"I haven't had the pleasure of seeing you at the other auctions." Molec says.

"I'm a first time customer."

"For certain. I would have noticed someone like you in the past."

Ugh. I hate the way that sounds.

"I would have noticed such a fine auction. My husband wasn't lying when he said Zygerria only offered slaves of unmatched quality. We haven't been able to find any stock quite like yours."

Molec brushes a bit of lint off his shirt. "We have a reputation to uphold." He leans in, ever closer. "Now, you say you're married?"

 _Don't say it. Don't say it._

 _Oh man, I'm going to say it._

"For now."

A smile spreads across Atai's face.

" _Steela, the punch bowl."_ Sierra whispers. _"I've gotten my mark to it, but what's the big deal?"_

The punch bowl. I'd better get Atai over to it; he deserves all of it and worse. "The slaves aren't all I'm impressed with. You've spoiled us with the menu, really. It looks delicious."

Atai leads the way to the table and stops at the "We use only the best kitchen slaves. After such a long journey, a lovely lady such as yourself must be… _thirsty."_

He pours two cups of punch and hands one to me.

"To the auction."

 _Oh, come on_.

I swallow hard. "To the auction."

I know what's coming to me. I put the vial in the bowl. But Atai is watching, and if I don't drink this stuff, he won't either. I take a gulp of the pink, overly sweet liquid and Atai follows.

The moment I force the punch down my throat, Hero's mark and a few other of the guests start to vomit.

Out of my peripheral vision I see the look of realization dawn on Kira and Sierra along with a green pallor.

I force a smile, hoping the punch doesn't kick in in such a small dose.

My stomach turns over the same time Atai's makes a loud, gurgling noise.

 **Well, most of the people in that room deserve some bad punch at the very least. Our heroines? Not so much.**

 **I'd like to make a note about Cadena. She is the property of katierosefun, who graciously gave me permission to mention her in the story. So, an enormous thank you to her!**

 **I'd like to answer a question from McAwesome, who I can't PM because they are a guest: At this point in the story, Tor is in jail but not dead yet. This story takes place one month after WOFFJ, so our least favorite prison warden still has about twelve years to live before the incident in the prison yard.**

 **Thank you to McAwesome, starwarshobbitfics, MusicKeeper, and Rose Ravenclaw for your reviews. And speaking of which, please review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	5. We Get Punched by Punch

**CHAPTER FIVE – WE GET PUNCHED BY PUNCH**

 **AHSOKA**

"Ahsoka," Sierra moans, curling against Lux. "Why didn't you tell us the punch was spiked?"

"I thought you wouldn't drink it anyway." I defend myself.

Kira looks like she wants to say something, but she goes green and leans back against the chair, holding her stomach.

"No," Sierra takes over like she's read Kira's mind. "Kira and I were _grifting._ You're supposed to establish positive neural connections with the mark and one of the best ways to do it is -." She dry heaves.

"One of the best ways to do it is by raising a few toasts to the mark and sipping a drink every time they have a positive reaction to something." Lux finishes her thought, rubbing Sierra's back. "It's classical conditioning; eventually just the grifter's sipping will trigger a positive emotion."

Oops. "All right, I may not have told you two, but I'm really curious about Steela, who spiked the punch and still drank it."

"Atai wouldn't have drank it if I didn't." Steela groans. Saw tries to combat her nausea with a cold pack, but she swats his hand away. "I had to. You owe me _big,_ Ahsoka!"

"I've never been happier that pregnant women aren't allowed to have alcohol." Hero muses.

Mina ties Kira's hair back with an elastic band, then walks into the kitchen. She returns with a glass of water.

"Here, drink this."

Kira eyes it suspiciously. "What is it?"

But Mina leaves no room for discussion. She hands Kira the glass, watching her with a mother's hawk-eye.

"Medicine," she admits when Kira's throat contracts from swallowing. "It should start working in a few minutes."

Sierra can't swallow her dose fast enough. Tandin offers Steela hers. "Have the symptoms lessened at all since you drank the punch?" he asks.

Steela drinks the medicine, moans, and rolls over to face the back of the couch. _Drama queen._

"Well, if the drug works this well on the mark, then no one will show up at the auction." Lux says weakly.

"No joke," Sierra grumbles.

Kira speaks up. "I've had food poisoning before, and it pales in comparison to this."

"The medicine will kick in soon." Mina soothes, and makes sure Kira's ponytail is tied tightly before slipping a headband on Sierra.

"Mom, what are you -?"

Just then, Kira jumps to her feet and runs for the refresher. Realization dawns on Sierra's face but before she can say or do anything, she takes off after Kira. Steela opts for the kitchen trash can.

I raise an eye marking at Mina.

"The only way to halt the effects of the drug is to get rid of it," Mina says. "When Lux was four, he ate a flower and the pediatrician told me to make him drink this."

"What is it?" I ask in horror.

"Salt and water."

I mentally file that away for the (Force forbid) possibility that Tav eats something toxic.

Steela straightens up and gulps water from the sink about the same time Sierra stalks back into the room, looking markedly healthier.

"Feel better?" Lux asks. She glares at him.

"Mom, why didn't you tell us?"

Mina crosses her arms. "You wouldn't drink if I did. Lux didn't."

Kira returns a few minutes later, a bit ruffled but not excessively so. One look at Mina, and she knows not to press the matter further.

"Now that you three are back in working order, we should focus on the job." Mina says. "Lux?"

"Right," Lux clears his throat. "Saw and I have drained one million credits from fines and renovations to suit the fire code. I doubt many who drank the punch are willing to take the … less glamorous treatment option, so they're likely still sick and won't attend the auction. And if they don't attend the auction, they won't buy slaves."

"Without a doubt, Atai will be in attendance." Kira says. "The Royal Slave Auction is too important for him to leave to chance."

"Does he have some sort of system to order slaves via the HoloNet?" Hutch asks.

Kira bleaches. "Possibly. I never heard anything of the sort."

"I'll check it out. If there is, I can remotely disrupt the purchases." He goes off to his computer.

"All right, so we've taken out his building." Saw says. "We've taken away his buyers. What else is there to take?"

I would answer, but my thought process is interrupted by the sound of little hands smacking against the floor and little legs plodding by.

It's Tav, crawling around the common room and making little noises of effort as he drags his baby body over to Lux.

"Da-da."

"That's right Tav, it's Da-da." Lux holds out his arms. "Come to Daddy."

The baby smiles his mostly toothless grin and changes his trajectory until he's coming head-on to Lux's legs. As he picks up momentum he comes faster, and faster, and faster, and -."

"Bonteri, is he going to be able to stop?" Saw asks.

"Oh, he'll be fine. I'll catch him before he -."

Spoke too soon.

While Lux's eyes are raised to talk to Saw, Tav gains a second wind of energy and crashes headfirst into the couch.

There is the awful split second of silence, and then it comes.

"WAAAAAH!"

Tav rolls back into his diapered bottom while he screams about his sore noggin. Lux picks him up under the arms and sets him on his lap.

"I'm sorry buddy. I know that hurts."

"Poor kid," Steela frets.

I shake my head. "At least he doesn't have montrals."

"Anyway, about the job?"

I cross my arms. "I can think of one."

"What?"

"His stock."

Most of the color returns to Kira's face.

"If he doesn't have slaves, then he has nothing to sell." I say. "And if he doesn't sell anything, then he's lost millions from catching and maintaining the slaves alone, not to mention any of the other overhead costs of his business."

"You're suggesting breaking into the Zygerrian palace and carrying out a massive rescue mission." Tandin says. "How do you propose we get in? Where are we to hide the slaves afterward?"

"I know it sounds far-fetched, but it's our best option. If he loses slaves, then he has to purchase more. It's a double hit."

Kira speaks up.

"Atai's security measures are extreme even in the circle of slavery." She says. "Shock collars are exclusive to Zygerria; the Hutts don't use them. Even the way he groups the slaves is meant to discourage rebellion. He never places teenagers or young adults together, instead he groups them in with older people to temper their anger."

That reminds me of something I need to address with Kira…

"This man's security system is top-of-the-line." Hutch interrupts. "I can get into most of it, but it'll take time. The main thing I'm concerned about is a biometric lock on one of the containers. It's digital, so Steela can't pick it. This thing has a constantly revolving, twenty-digit combination. I hate to say this, but I _cannot_ hack it."

"But you can hack anything. You're the Cashier from Hell." Katooni says.

Hutch sighs and lifts his daughter onto his lap. "Kat, in this case it doesn't matter if I'm the Cashier from Mortis. The only way to get the lock open is if one of Atai's guards does it."

"Do you know what's behind the door?" Lux asks.

Hutch glances at the screen. "Not explicitly. It's just a serial number but I can track it if you want. However, I fail to see the point."

I share a look with Lux and a smile spreads across my face.

"If Atai bothered to put a biometric lock on it, it's bound to be valuable. Probably the most valuable thing in the palace."

"We're going to steal it, aren't we?" Steela asks.

"Yes, we are." Lux replies. "Hutch, nail down the building schematics and the security system. Everyone else, go back to your rooms and start brainstorming. We'll reconvene in an hour to go over the plan."

 **STEELA**

I'm absolutely thrilled to have a break. In my head, "We'll reconvene in one hour" translates directly to "Nap for Steela!"

"Steela?"

"Yes?"

Mina gestures to the couch. "I need to talk to you."

Oh, boy. The last time Mina said she needed to talk to me, it was because of my smooth move with Ahsoka's prenatal vitamins. That talk is probably what got us to bury the hatchet into something other than each other's skulls.

Mina sits down serenely next to me, channeling every fiber of the senator she used to be.

"Steela, I understand that you love the people on this ship, and I appreciate everything you do for all of us. I really do," she says. "You're kind, you're brave, but above all you are selfless. And right now, you're scaring me."

 _What? How am I scaring Mina? Have I done something wrong lately, besides yell at Saw when he blared his rock music while Tav and Sierra were sleeping? Well, there was also that time I stepped on Kira, but that was an accident. I would never do something like that on purpose._

"Scaring you?"

"I don't think there's a contest as to who Sierra's primary caretakers are, and it's you and me."

Well, that's true. "Is there something wrong with that?"

Mina puts a hand on my shoulder. "I can handle some of this."

"She's three feet away from me. It only makes sense. I mean, she trusts me and I can't just lay there and listen to her cry."

Mina smiles sadly. "I know."

"You do?"

"I do. Because I was like that when I was young, too. The difference is that I didn't have someone to tell me what I'm going to tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"That you need to be selfish for a while. Steela, if you keep this up you are going to hurt yourself." She insists. "You aren't getting enough sleep. You drink too much caf to compensate for that sleep. Between Sierra, Tav, and possibly Kira." She bites her cheek "The last thing we need is another patient."

"Mina I'm fine, I swear."

"No." Her voice grows sharp. "You only have one working kidney, Steela. If it goes into failure, Tandin doesn't have another to give. No one else in our crew is a match, and I don't know how many people in the Rebel Alliance that would be willing to donate a kidney have type O negative blood. And forget the kidney, what if something happens to you on a job? What if your body gives out while you're in the ventilation system? Or in front of the mark?"

She takes both my hands in her own.

"You are a lovely person, a good sister, and you are going to be a _wonderful_ mother someday." She says, squeezing my hands. "I just want to make sure that when that day comes, you're all in one piece."

Maybe it's because my mind is fried from no sleep. Maybe it's because of the punch. Maybe it's this talk, plus the last dregs of my teenage hormones pinging off every neurotransmitter in my body. But for some reason or another, I find myself pushing back tears.

"They're not leaving for the job for a few hours," Mina says gently. "I think you should get some sleep."

"I have to check my gear."

"Ahsoka will check it for you if she knows you're napping." Mina releases my hands and covers me with her shawl, pulling me into her arms like a small child. "Shh, close your eyes and get some rest. You deserve it."

"Are you sure?"

"Oh yes I'm sure," Mina says, some of her doting mother voice being pushed aside by the indomitable will of BonScary. "Now go to sleep. I've knocked you out once before, and don't you think I won't do it again."

 **A/N: Mina really doesn't mess around with anyone's welfare. Even if she has to fall back on BonScary to get it done.  
**

 **Thank you to starwarshobbitfics, MusicKeeper, and McAwesome for your reviews! And speaking of which, please review.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	6. Fiddle Game

**CHAPTER SIX - FIDDLE GAME  
**

 **KIRA**

I can't imagine the willpower it will take for Steela to pull herself from Mina's arms and plan for the job.

Mina leans back into the couch. "Kira, would you please be a dear and get me a glass of water? I would do it myself, but under the circumstances…"

"Of course." I fill a glass in the sink and hand it to her.

"Thank you," she takes a sip and sets it back down. "What time is it?"

"The con briefing should start momentarily." I look to Steela. "The others will come to collect her."

"Yes," Mina says. "And Steela needs her sleep if she's to be effective on the job."

 _"Steela! It's time!"_ Saw calls from the other room.

Steela stirs at the sound of her name and Mina pets her hair. "Shh, that was nothing."

The door opens and Ahsoka steps in. "Mina, it really is time for the briefing."

"Can it wait a half hour? She only needs a half hour more." Mina bargains, pulling Steela close to her chest.

Hero's footsteps thunder into the room. "Steela! Are you coming? Hutch is about to start the…oh."

The look on Hero's face is evidence that she did not expect to find Steela asleep in Mina's arms. Sadly, she slammed the door on her way in.

Steela jolts awake and Mina sighs.

"Huh? Oh crap, is it time for the con briefing already? How long was I asleep?" Steela mutters, turning over.

Mina releases her. "Not long enough."

Steela looks at the chronometer. "The briefing's about to start!" she cries and bolts from the room.

Mina sighs. "And there she goes again…"

Ahsoka taps me on the shoulder. "Kira, can I see you in Lux's and my room?"

"Absolutely. Do you need something?"

"No," Ahsoka says, reaching to touch my hand. "I just want to talk to you for a while."

She leads me down the hallway, into her and Lux's room, and she shuts the door behind her. "Have a seat. Would you like a juice box or some of Lux's wine? I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

The juxtaposition of an innocent fruit juice and wine aside, I shake my head. "I'm well, thank you though."

"You're not old enough to drink." Ahsoka rubs her forehead. "I forgot. If you change your mind about the juice box, just let me know."

She tears open a juice box and takes a deep sip. "I never liked these, but after Tav started drinking them I did too."

"I understand." When Cadena was pregnant with Anakin Jr, she craved jogan-flavored ice pops, which were something she never touched before. After he was born, she couldn't get enough of the sweet cereal that she and Jim gave her son to snack on.

"That's right, Cadena did it too." She guides me to sit down on the couch. "Kira, that's who I want to talk to you about. It's been almost two years since she died, and have you talked to anyone about it?"

I bite my lip.

The answer is no. After Cadena died, I lived with her widower Jim and son Anakin Jr, and then volunteered to spy for Senator Organa and enrolled in the Imperial Academy. My second year there will be complete at the end of the marking period.

Since then I studied and spied, not only to aid the rebellion, but to keep my mind off the past. While Cadena and I were younglings I always was the studious, rational one. Academics are as consoling to me as saber training was to Cadena.

"I didn't think so," Ahsoka says, bringing me out of my temporary reverie. "How long did you stay in that house after she died?"

"Until about two years ago." I admit. "That's when I enrolled in the Academy."

Ahsoka closes her eyes. "I imagine you and Jim just sat in stony silence the whole time."

"We didn't. We spoke about work, the baby, and the news. We celebrated when that news was good and weren't too surprised when the news was bad."

Ahsoka gives me a withering gaze.

"I didn't mean literal silence. You didn't talk about your emotions after you'd just lost your best friend. Kira, that's not healthy. If, God forbid, something happened to Steela or Hero I would need to talk about it with someone."

I take a very deep breath.

"Did you visit her grave before you left?" Ahsoka asks gently.

"No." I look to the floor. "I left early that morning, before sunrise. I'm all right Ahsoka, I truly am. I've come to terms with it."

Ahsoka snakes an arm behind my back, pulling me close.

"If I've learned one thing from losing Padme, Anakin, and my father-in-law, it's that even though you've come to terms with it, doesn't mean you don't miss them."

My breaths shake and I squeeze my eyes closed.

"I miss her too," Ahsoka says. "I knew her well – not as well as you did, but well all the same."

"Why?" I ask. "She had me. She had Jim. She had a child! How could she lose the will to live after she had just become a mother?"

Ahsoka's grip around me tightens.

"Betrayal, especially on the level that Cadena experienced, is all-consuming." She explains. "You can't think of anything except it and the person who hurt you, so much that anything else is mentally swept under the proverbial rug. I was the same way after Order 66, but I had something else that I couldn't ignore. I was pregnant with Tav."

"Cadena was a mother as well."

"Being pregnant is different," she explains. "I knew that there was a tiny, innocent person who was completely dependent on me for survival. With that knowledge came a new purpose. I woke up every morning so he could grow and be healthy.

"And then one day I looked in the mirror and asked myself 'If I'm willing to live to take care of this baby, then why won't I do it for myself?'"

I swallow a lump in my throat.

"I may have done it for myself in the end, but Tav was the bridge." Ahsoka says. "And as much as Cadena had in this galaxy, she didn't have the bridge to bring that realization to her. Instead, she knew that you and Jim would take care of Anakin Jr. and that it was all right for her to go."

"Do you know what was wrong with her?" I squeak out, my voice so low I can barely hear it myself.

"Kira, can you speak up? What I heard didn't make sense."

…

 _"Obi-Wan. I wanna see him. Isn't he back yet?"_

 _"Back from where, Cadena?"_

 _"One of those Hutt planets, Jim told me. Mal Shutta? Tattine?"_

 _"You're not making any sense."_

…

Ahsoka rocks me in her arms, motherlike, while my body wracks with sobs.

"It's okay," she soothes. "Let it out. You need to do this."

No, I don't need to do this. I don't know what has overcome me, but I need to bring my emotions under control. Crying about Cadena won't do a bit of good and it most certainly won't bring her back.

Ahsoka brings her lips to my ear and whispers "Yes, it will."

"What will?"

"This will do you good," she says, and I realize I've spoken my thoughts aloud. "Crying is healthy. You need to release the emotions you've bottled inside you, otherwise they can fester and turn into hatred."

"Hatred leads to the dark side." I recite.

"Yes," she agrees. "But in order to avoid it, we need to release emotions instead of suppressing them."

She hugs me. "Do you want some privacy?"

I wipe a tear from my eye. "Please."

"All right," she stands. "I'll be in the common room if you need me. Don't hesitate to interrupt. But before I go, I want to tell you that Obi-Wan and Cadena would both be very proud of what you're doing for the rebellion."

She squeezes my shoulder once more and takes her leave.

 **LUX**

Steela walks into the con briefing with messy hair and rumpled clothing. That and the fact that Hero cuts my mother a wide berth leads me to assume that Steela was in the middle of a Mom-mandated nap when Hero came to wake her up.

Kira's puffy eyes are easier to draw a conclusion from.

I raise an eyebrow to Ahsoka and ask _Why was she crying?_ In silent Spouse Speak.

Ahsoka mouths _Cadena._

 _Ah…_

I didn't know Cadena well, but I was aware that Kira was her best friend – and when Cadena died, Kira was out running an errand. If Ahsoka talked to her about it, I can only imagine that Kira's emotions would be fresh.

I clap my hands to call the meeting to order. "All right, Hutch. What do you have for us?"

"I still haven't had any luck opening the lock or slowing the revolutions to something manageable." Hutch says. "But I did track the shipping tags. Looks like whatever's in there came straight from Zeltros."

"Zeltros doesn't dabble in the slave trade. They're almost a purely hedonistic society; they wouldn't dream of selling their own into a life of misery." Ahsoka notes.

"Maybe it's not people. Zeltros is known for its fine liquors and those can go for quite a price. Or it could be jewels or precious metals." Steela guesses.

"Whatever it is," Hutch interrupts. "It's valuable enough to stick a hundred thousand-credit lock on the door. He was clearly planning for normal thieves, people like Steela, and people like me. That thing isn't opening without an authorized scan."

"Can we steal the scans?"

"Not unless you want new retinas."

 _"No."_ Tandin announces, as if Steela's a tween who asked to pierce her belly button.

"Anyway, you have a different job." Sierra says. "Atai's interested, and since you said you were married it makes you even more alluring. Men like him enjoy taking things that don't belong to them, whether that's money or women."

"We need to rob him and con him at the same time." I say. "And to do that, we're running the Morning After scam, while crossing it with a variant of a Fiddle Game."

The look Steela gives me lets me know she's completely unimpressed.

"It's a variant,"

"I still have to do it, don't I?"

Answer: yes. The only difference is we're adding another player. "Rex and Hero, you're the Badges. Steela -."

"I know already." Steela grumps.

"Ahsoka and Saw, you're the Bag Men." I continue. "Sierra…"

"Confederate!" Sierra cheers.

"Kira, you're going to be the fiddle. Does everyone have it down?"

My team nods.

"Excellent. Now, let's go give Atai Molec a run for his money. Literally."

 **A/N: Atai had better hang onto his hat, or he will soon be wishing he never went into business. Those of you who have read "Eyes Open" know that Kira has a serious problem with him, and Ahsoka has a bone to pick as well.**

 **In response to McAwesome's review: I don't think they're redundant at all! I'm always happy to see more of your thoughts in the review box. Your username is very accurate :)**

 **Thank you to starwarshobbitfics, McAwesome, and MusicKeeper for your reviews! And speaking of which, please review.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	7. How to Hack the Unhackable

**CHAPTER SEVEN – HOW TO HACK THE UNHACKABLE**

 **STEELA**

"Hold still."

Kira doesn't move a muscle as Hero traces a brush across her eyelid, leaving a smoky grey shadow behind.

"You wear that color well," I say, unscrewing the cap of my lipstick.

Kira blinks, clearly unused to makeup. "Thank you."

"Your hair is going to be gorgeous too." Hero says, deftly removing the curlers from Kira's blonde tresses. "Your outfit is perfect, now all you need are shoes."

"These," Sierra hands her a pair of low heels. "High enough for fashion, low enough to run in. As for me," She brandishes her "best friends", the black pumps.

I roll my eyes and apply the lipstick. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

"You don't actually have to do anything!" Hero protests.

"It's the principle of things." I answer, sliding the fake wedding ring onto my finger. "You're sure you have this con under control?"

"I'm positive." Sierra smirks. "Are you ready to be the -."

I point my comb at her threateningly.

"I dare you to say it, Sierra."

…

"Tamara Ellis." I introduce myself. "I have an audience with the King."

The guards check their holo-records and page me into the throne room. Atai bristles on the throne.

"Mrs. Ellis," he greets, waving a Twi'lek serving girl away. "It's a pleasure to see you. Where's your husband?"

"He's inspecting a potential acquisition. Togruta." I fib. "I've always been the one who works with powerful men."

Atai sits up straighter.

"I should suit you well then."

My stomach flips as if I've drank the punch again. "You already have."

He steps off the throne and all the servants fall to their floor. Per Ahsoka's instructions I bow as well until Atai bids me rise.

The twinkle in his eye is too familiar.

"When will he expect you to return with a price estimate?"

"Not for a long while. He's very thorough with his inspections."

Atai closes the distance between us.

 _"I_ am the one who's truly thorough with treating my buyers."

I smile. "You've given me no reason to believe otherwise."

"Zygerria has a reputation of excellent customer service to uphold. Come, I have a business chamber readied. But before we go -."

With one deft motion, Atai grabs my left hand and plucks the wedding ring from my finger.

If it had really been my wedding ring I would have slugged him, in character or not. But it isn't – it's a cheap piece Katooni got as a gag gift. And Tamara Ellis, slaver scum and cheating spouse, wouldn't mind a bit.

Instead, I paste on a tickled expression while Atai slips the ring into his pocket.

"Come," he orders, and I take his arm as we walk away.

…

When Atai's back is turned, I take a moment to whisper into my comm.

"Lux, why isn't Sierra doing this?"

 _"Atai already showed an interest in you. It's best to capitalize on it while we can,"_ Lux explains. _"Anyway, Sierra has and will have her hands full over here."_

"Really? How?"

If he responds I don't realize, because Atai's turned back from barking orders at a slave. The young girl practically runs from the room and returns promptly with two champagne flutes on a tray.

I gingerly take one and Atai snatches his, sending a terrifying glare to the serving girl, who cowers behind the tray.

"Skug," he growls and the muscles in his arm flex to telegraph a blow.

I clear my throat to take his attention off the girl. "You know how to train slaves, your Highness."

"Your husband has quite a reputation as well, Mrs…"

"Tamara, please." Atai nods and I sip the champagne, trying my best to imitate Sierra's sip-association trick. As I am not a grifter, I'm not sure how well it goes.

"Very well, Tamara." He sits, half his champagne already downed. "What questions do you have about my business?"

 _"First names are always the hook," Sierra advised back on the ship. "They make the mark think he's more powerful than you. And if you get him asking questions and using your first name, then you're absolutely golden. Just make sure to keep the conversation on a subject that he's interested in or makes his feel comfortable."_

I glance around the room. A portrait of the King hangs in a prominent position on the wall, along with a few other holos. I'm willing to bet that Atai's favorite subject is himself.

"Actually, I'm more interested in something else. I know a thing or two about power, and it's not an easy thing to hold on to." I curl myself around the arm of the chair a little bit. "Tell me, how have you managed to hold the throne through the Clone War, the return of Miraj Scintel, and the rise of the Empire?"

When Atai hears the question I make sure to take a good, long sip of the champagne.

 **SIERRA**

When Lux said I had my hands full, he wasn't kidding.

So far I have played an annoying secretary dropping off data cards to the guard station ("These really need to get up here; it's urgent." I announced as my friends slipped straight past them), an engineer who needed to run a maintenance check deeper in the building and lost her keys, and a representative from HR telling a group of guards in our wing that they needed to do their rounds on the other side of the building early.

When I finished with the last one, Hero nodded at me. "I think we made the right choice sending Steela after Atai."

"Is that a swipe?"

"When do I ever take a swipe at you, Sierra?"

 _Oh, there are lots of times._ "Whatever. It sounds like Steela has the situation under control."

"If it gets out of hand, we'll know about it." Ahsoka says. "Kira, lead the way. The container's not far ahead.

While Kira and Ahsoka take point, I fall back to close ranks with Lux.

"Is it just me, or are you picking up on something with Kira?" I whisper.

Lux nods. "It's not you. Her posture is more relaxed, her hands twitch toward the wall, and she anticipates turns and corners. Kira's been here before."

"But why?"

"I don't know. Stay sharp, Ahsoka may have been her friend but she was still an Imperial cadet, and in the past but Jedi have fallen. Remember Barriss?"

A bad taste fills my mouth. "You don't have to remind me. I'll keep an eye out."

"Hutch, where's the container?" Saw asks.

 _"You have another three intersections and then it's the third one on the left, number 6756. You should be able to tell it apart by the door."_ Hutch says. _"But you're all just wasting your time. I cannot get that thing open!"_

"We don't need you to." Saw says and ducks down a different hallway, away from the group.

 _"You can't cut a hold – Atai will know we're here, and then Steela would be toast!"_

"We're not going to cut the door down," Ahsoka says. "We're going to unlock the door."

 _"Oh, yeah."_ Hutch scoffs. _"I'm very interested to hear this. How do you guys plan on hacking the unhackable lock?"_

"It's not that hard. We just need Saw."

 _"Saw? What the heck is Saw going to do about anything?"_

Just then, Saw comes down the hallway, hauling an unconscious guard behind him. He leans him against the wall next to the lock and Ahsoka forcibly pries his eye open.

The lock flashes green.

"And that's how you open a biometric lock." He says victoriously.

Hutch mutes his comm, probably cutting off a paragraph of muttered swear words.

Lux grabs the container door and swings it open. "All right you guys, we're going to grab whatever's in here and get back to the ship. I'll -."

My eyes widen "Lux,"

Lux ignores me. "I'll comm Steela to proceed with the plan and by the time this is done, we'll have a fat paycheck."

 _"Lux."_ Ahsoka says, more urgently.

This time, whether due to Ahsoka's influence as his wife or repetition, Lux follows her gaze to the inside of the container.

A group of ten Zeltron children huddle in the corner, too scared to move. They're young, five years old at the most.

"Hello," Ahsoka coos.

A small pink-colored boy in the front speaks up. "Jawadda yan-yan?"

I look at Kira. "Do you speak Zeltron?"

Kira shakes her head. "Do you? There are a fair number of Zeltrons on Onderon."

"Yeah, but they all speak Basic or Onderonian." I cry both to Kira and to our rotten linguistic luck.

"Okay, okay." Hero says. She points out the door and announces. "Freedom this way!"

The kids stare at her, confused.

Ahsoka takes a blaster pistol from her utility belt and levitates it with the Force. "Me Jedi!"

This time the kids scream and cower even farther in the corner.

Lux steps up and tries to make a funny face at them. "Hi, guys. I'm a friend!"

A few of them giggle at his face, but when he offers his hand none go with him.

My turn. I walk as close to the children as I dare, sit down, and give them my biggest smile. "Hi, guys. I'm Sierra."

The children don't know what I'm saying, so they just give me a blank look.

I point to my chest and repeat my name. The little boy in the front gets the memo, points to his chest, and says something I'm assuming is his name. I mentally nickname him Pinky.

"Do you guys want to go have some fun?" I ask and hold out my hand, hoping the name exchange will extend a bridge of trust between me and Pinky. And indeed, Pinky reaches out a tiny hand but a purple girl next to him shouts something and he pulls back.

I look over my shoulder. "What are we going to do, physically drag them onto the ship?"

"We can't do that." Ahsoka says. "There aren't enough of us, and they'll make such a racket the guards will hear for sure. Then we'll all be in the container."

Kira steps up. "Ahsoka, may I try something?"

I scramble back to my feet. "Be my guest, Kira."

Kira steps in front of us, looks directly at the kids, and says "Hoth's?"

 _"HOTH'S!"_

The reaction in immediate: the children practically run each other down running to the front of the container and swarming around Kira.

"H-how?" Hero chokes.

Kira smiles at the kids. "Zeltron children enjoy ice cream just as much as any others. My master used to use ice cream as a bribe for his old padawan."

"But they don't speak Basic." Hero protests.

"Brand names don't translate." Kira explains. "Now all we have to do is produce Hoth's brand ice cream when we get on the ship."

"I have some in the freezer." Hero claps her hands. "That's right kids, Hoth's! Right this way!"

 **A/N: A big nod goes out to "The Stork Job" for the ice cream thing. Just wait until Mina hears about** _ **this**_ **one. Atai had better invest in some high-quality body armor to protect himself from the wrath of BonScary.**

 **Thank you to starwarshobbitfics, McAwesome (sounds like you had a crazy day, my friend), Rose Ravenclaw, MusicKeeper, and Johnt12345 for your reviews. And speaking of which, please review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	8. The Rebels Babysit

**CHAPTER EIGHT – THE REBELS BABYSIT**

 **KIRA**

The children eagerly come with us with the promise of Hoth's ice cream. As Ahsoka and I shepherd them out of the building, Saw contacts his sister and tells her to return to the ship.

"I should be able to close the deal tonight when Atai meets me for drinks." Steela says, jogging out of the palace. "Saw, what's the big deal? We were making some – _holy Unifar!"_

I guide a few children up the boarding ramp. Steela brings up the rear. "Were they in the container?"

"We should have realized it when we discovered the container had been shipped from Zeltros. Zeltrons are considered highly attractive, but Zeltron slaves are a rarity. Child slaves can be trained and they can serve for the longest period of time." I tell her.

Steela shudders and turns her attention back to the kids. "Hi, guys. Let's go inside."

I join Sierra at the head of the group of children as she leads us to the main part of the ship. Before she can even reach for the panel, the door opens.

Mina looks at her with first a relieved, then a shocked expression.

"Sierra, who are these children?" Mina asks incredulously.

"Atai was keeping them in the container." She says. "We rescued them."

Mina stares at the children one moment longer, until a little girl breaks into tears.

"Hoth's?" she whines.

Mina pushes Sierra and I aside to come into full view of the children, and a collective hush falls over the group. Even though they don't understand our language, the little ones still recognize the woman who holds the highest echelon of authority: motherhood.

"Amonna!" a child wails.

Though we have no sure way of knowing, it seems safe to assume that a _monna_ translates to _mother._

"Oh dear." Mina frets. "Bring them inside."

…

When I first boarded the ship, the first words I thought of were _organized chaos._

That type of chaos pales in comparison to the same ship filled with ten small children.

Poised, collected senator Mina Bonteri is a whirlwind. She flies around giving hugs, washing faces, and wiping noses, all with a smile. The children speak to her in Zeltron and she replies in Basic, calming them even though they can't understand her.

Saw Gerrera and Captain Rex sit on the other side of the ship attempting to engage a few children in a board game. Hutch shows a holomovie in Zeltron on the computer screen, a popular title I recognize from my Temple days.

"Don't touch that!" Tandin shouts, grabbing a purple boy around the waist and lifting him away from the rebels' sofa before he can bring a permanent marker to the fabric. "Everyone needs to sit still and play nicely."

I may not be a mother or older sister, but I do my best. I allow the kids to sit on my lap and braid one little girl's pink hair.

But Hero is the _hero_ of the day. She walks into the room holding aloft a frost covered tub of –

"Hoth's!" she calls.

The children scramble off our laps and over to Hero, clamoring for a bite of ice cream.

"When the job is over I'll leave a tip with the Zeltros Bureau of Investigation." Hutch says. "More than likely these kids were kidnapped from their homes."

"Speaking of the job, what point are we at now?" Saw asks. "We ran up a huge fire code bill, eliminated the top buyers, and stole the most valuable stock. What's left?"

"The killing blow." Ahsoka says gravely.

…

When Steela leaves for her part of the job, she hands me a lipstick.

"It's Sierra's. Can you return it for me, please? I'm late." she asks, quickly grabbing her pocketbook and rushing down the boarding ramp.

"Of course, it's not a problem."

"Kira, you're a lifesaver." Steela says and shuts the ramp behind her.

I walk back to Sierra's room both to return her makeup and tuck in a few of the Zeltrons who have fallen asleep there, but the door is closed. As I get closer, I can hear voices slip through it.

 _"Lux and I both noticed it. She's been in that palace before, but why?"_

Ahsoka sighs. _"Don't say anything to Kira about this; it's like you and Tor."_

 _"Of course, but what is it?"_

 _"Kira spent her entire childhood in the palace, as a slave."_

I slide the lipstick into my pocket, turn on my heel, and walk away, emotion balling in my throat.

…

That evening, Sierra tiptoes into the bedroom.

"Steela just lost her bed, didn't she?" she whispers, glancing at the group of three younglings who've fallen asleep in Steela's bunk.

"For the moment, she has." I whisper, covering the younglings with the blankets.

"She doesn't need it at the moment." She replies, sitting down in her bed. "Kira, I know you heard me talking to Ahsoka in the other room. It's not anything you did, or your behavior. It's because someone else saw you, and that someone has a really big mouth."

"Would it happen to be Saw?"

"Saw," Sierra confirms. "Kira, I'm sorry about what happened; I had no idea."

"How much do you know?" I ask.

"Ahsoka told me about you and Atai, and also about your master and … Cadena." She admits. "And if you don't want to talk about it I'll drop the subject right now. You didn't push me about Tor, and I want to give you the same respect."

"Thank you." I swallow hard. "I appreciate that."

Sierra climbs into bed and tucks herself in. I check on the Zeltrons once more and follow her lead, switching off the light with the Force.

We sit in silence for a while.

"How long have you been a con woman?" I ask. The silence in the room is crushing.

"As long as I can remember." She answers. "I was always Lux's accomplice when he was getting into mischief. I played a waitress during the Lazarus project to swipe credit cards, but my first actual con was against a corrupt mayor. How long have you been working with Senator Organa?"

I turn over in bed. "I've been at the Academy for two years. Before I enrolled I lived with Cadena's son and her husband, Jim."

"I heard about Lux's smooth move over there, with the stove? And the paint? I believe every word."

A memory of Lux, Jim, and I covered in paint flashes into my mind. "He was certainly memorable."

"For sure. He can't cook worth a bean."

"The important trait is that he's willing to fight for the Republic, just like you and I." I say. "When we topple the Empire, the Jedi Order will need to be rebuilt as well."

"It will. Are you going to rejoin when that happens?"

I nod, even though she can't see me in the darkness. "Undoubtedly. And you, what are you going to do?"

Sierra is silent.

"I don't know." She says. "I don't know how to do anything except grift and run games. House Bonteri has no nobility, money, or influence anymore, so nobody will marry me. When the Empire rose, I hadn't even finished school. I'll keep doing this, I guess."

How am I to respond to something like that?

But as if sent from above, one of the Zeltrons starts to fuss.

"Oh, dear." I say, and scramble up with Sierra to check on them.

 **THIRD PERSON**

The next morning Atai Molec wakes up with a headache and the weight of another person in his bed. He relaxes. Even though he may not remember it right now, last night must have been excellent. He turns over to rouse his partner before her husband realizes she's missing.

"Mrs. Ellis?"

He freezes.

Tamara Ellis stares sightlessly at the ceiling.

Bile and panic fill Atai's stomach as he stumbles out of bed. How would something like this happen? Young, healthy women don't simply drop dead in their sleep!

Unwilling to look into the woman's eyes any longer, Atai throws a blanket over her face and rings for his personal guards.

"Take her to the infirmary." He panics. If he's lucky, maybe the woman is simply in a coma. "And delete all records of our meeting last night. Contact her husband and tell him she perished on her way home."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The guards load the woman's body onto a stretcher and carry her out of the room. Atai dresses, shaken to the core. He may be one of the galaxy's more famous sleazeballs, but no one can fully recover from the experience of having a dead body in one's bed.

 _How did she die?_ He wonders, and all he can come up with is alcohol poisoning. From what he remembers, he and the woman had enjoyed more than a few drinks while they hashed out the business agreements. He doesn't recall much after drinking, but they must have made their way up to his room at some point.

The intercom buzzes and Atai answers. "Molec."

 _"Your Highness, your nine o'clock is here!"_

"Very well. Send down a cup of caf, extra strong." Maybe that will help soothe his roaring headache.

 _"Right away, your Highn-."_

He shuts off the intercom before the person can finish her sentence.

…

The throne room doors swing open. Through his hangover, Atai makes out the image of an attractive blonde woman; a human/Togruta hybrid he thinks.

"Sire," she says, folding into a deep and perfect bow before rising. "Rhea Knight. I work for the Ellises."

Atai is seized by a moment of panic. "Ellis? I can't say that name is familiar."

Rhea gives him a withering look. "I tracked Mrs. Ellis' comlink to the palace. It looks like she's spent a significant amount of time here. In fact," she checks her comlink. "Her comlink is currently upstairs, in the general location of your bedroom."

Atai's eyes widen and "Rhea Knight" feels a stroke of victory.

"If you deliver the business payments to me immediately," Kira says, "Then Mr. Ellis is willing to forget everything and proceed doing business with Zygerria. He will neglect to inform his contacts in Black Sun and the Hutt circle of Zygerria's _unproffesionalism."_

…

Sierra steps to the guards at the front gate. "I'm here to see the King."

The guards check their schedule. "The King is busy."

That would be Kira's doing. "I need to see him immediately. It's urgent."

One of the guards lifts an eyebrow at her. "When was this audience requested?"

"It wasn't." She admits. "However, the King would be horrified to hear that you kept him from hearing the news."

…

Atai stiffens on the throne, but he weighs his options. The bribe payments would be a drop in the bucket compared to losing his markets in Black Sun, the Hutts, and anyone else who would be ready to pull out of their deals faced with this scandal.

"You leave me no choice." He growls and signals the nearest serving girl. "Bring the Ellis payments."

"You're not going to fall for that, right?" A voice says.

Atai pauses and turns in the direction of the voice. Sierra Bonteri stands in the doorway, shoulders back and eyes gleaming with the insanity Kira has only seen in one person: the prison warden she and Sierra know far too well.

"What would I be falling for?" he asks with a raised eyebrow, clearly shocked at the presence of this utter stranger.

"You're not going to just walk into what's clearly a trick." Sierra scoffs. "You're just going to give her the money, no questions asked?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that her name isn't Rhea Knight. It's Kira Narro." Sierra says. "And she's an escaped slave. I would go into further detail, but let's start with the basics. My name is Sierra Bonteri, and I have an asset to liquidate."

 **A/N: Sometimes the best commentary is no commentary. I'm just going to leave you all with this.**

 **To McAwesome: You read the first story five times? That's amazing, and I'm so happy that you love the series so much. It means a lot.**

 **Thank you to starwarshobbitfics, Rose Ravenclaw, MusicKeeper, and McAwesome for your reviews. And speaking of which, please review.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	9. Sierra Rides the Back of the Tiger

**CHAPTER NINE – SIERRA RIDES THE BACK OF THE TIGER**

 **KIRA**

 _"I mean that her name isn't Rhea Knight._ _It's Kira Narro." Sierra says._ _"And she's an escaped slave."_

A slow smile spreads across Atai's face as he scrutinizes mine, taking in every minute detail.

"I have all the paperwork to back it up." Sierra says. "But I think you recognize her. She worked for you, after all."

"I do," Atai says, his smile turning into a scowl. "I _never_ forget a Jedi. This is the same slave who -."

"Beat you with your own whip?"

I turn to her, a horrified expression on my face. "Sierra, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she asks.

I backpedal away from her and Atai. "Why would you do this?"

" _Why?"_ I repeat. "What do you mean, why? You know better than anyone else. I'm sick of grifitng! I'm sick of being Sierra, Emily, Natalie, Juliet, Rachel, Katherine, and all the others. I have no skills, I've no nobility left, no one will want to marry me, but what I _do_ have is a ship full of assets which I can easily liquidate into cold hard credits. All of them are in high demand from Darth Vader, Grand Moff Tarkin, and goodness knows how many other angry Imperials."

A sick feeling fills my stomach. "You would sell your friends to the Empire? You were sold to Warden Torrance, Sierra. You're aware of what the Empire does to rebels. How could you bring the same fate upon the others? They're your family!"

"How much are you asking?" Atai interrupts.

"Five thousand and she's all yours." Sierra says, and then turns back to me. "You know as well as I do that everyone is bought and sold, Kira. And I'm sorry, but today it's going to be you."

 _No, it will not._

"Five thousand?" Atai cries. "For one slave? That's highway robbery."

"I'm a thief, that's what I do. At any rate, that's the amount Torrance spent on me."

"He's a fool." Atai snarls. "He always was. He neglected perfectly good business opportunities to pursue his own sadistic vendetta. I would be surprised if he had a brain in his head."

While his back is turned, I spy a serving tray complete with utensils. Using the Force, I call the fork to my hand and curl my fingers around the handle.

Atai snaps around like the end of a whip and advances on me. "You've turned out to be a good investment, Jedi. You've turned out just as beautiful as your mother, whatever her name was."

I backpedal as far as I can, but a pillar behind me stops me in my tracks. Atai closes the distance, our bodies so close I can feel his hot, foul breath on my face.

He roughly grabs my chin to turn my head to either side. "Beautiful, young, and a Jedi. You'll fetch a fair price someday … after I'm done showing you your proper place."

My face flushes and my grip tightens around the fork. Once I have it in an opportune position, I launch forward and bury the tines in Atai's shoulder.

" _Augh!"_ he crumples, instinctively reaching to grab the fork.

Sierra jumps out of the way, but it's no matter. I've left the fork in Atai's flesh, forcing him to tear it out himself – not a wise action, for the wound begins to bleed profusely. His guards rush forth from their positions against the wall, boxing me in with their blasters and whips.

"Three thousand, for that!" Atai growls, tossing the fork against the wall.

Sierra seems completely unfazed by the blood. "My original price still stands. Don't tell me you won't get some satisfaction out of showing her the consequences for _that."_ She jerks her head in the general direction of the fork.

Spitting with pain, Atai offers his hand for her to shake, signaling a servant girl to bring him bacta for his shoulder.

"Sir, would you like me to run the background check?" A guard sputters.

 _"Silence!"_ Atai roars, then extends his hand to Sierra. "Four thousand. Final offer."

"Deal," Sierra shakes his hand. "One thing I can say about Zygerria, you never fail to deliver when it comes to business. Just out of curiosity, what will you be doing with her?"

Atai ignores the question and business himself with stopping up the blood flow.

"I think your personal service will be a good fit. Have her serve you on bended knee just like you did when she was a child."

 _One month ago, Warden Torrance lectured the student body of the Academy, his voice light and casual as he spoke of atrocities. All one would have to do is lower the pitch of Sierra's voice, and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference._

"Payment. Now." Sierra snaps "I understand Zygerria has traditions with its buyers, but I'm a busy girl. If I don't get back to the ship before my crew notices I'm gone, you can kiss goodbye any future valuable assets. Including Ahsoka Tano – you remember her, right?"

Atai snatches the bacta patch out of the serving girl's hands and applies it over the wound, hissing from pain.

"Bring her four thousand, skug." He growls, pointing to Sierra. "Guards, fit the Jedi with a shock collar and bring her to me."

Sierra speaks up. "She goes nowhere until I get my credits."

The slave scurries back toward the throne, scoops up the credits, and rushes them over to Sierra.

"Thank you," she says, more to Atai then to the girl. "Four thousand credits, all there. The slave is all yours." She waves. "Goodbye, Kira."

My entire body shakes with rage. "How can you live with yourself?"

"I'll manage."

At that moment, the throne room doors swish open and five ISB agents race through.

"Atai Molec!" one shouts. "You're under arrest for purchasing a member of the Imperial military through the slave trade!"

…

 _"There's one surefire way to keep out of the circle, and that's enrolling in the Academy." Kira explained to the group of con men as they sat around the table. "If someone tries to sell a member of the Imperial military and gets caught, they've sunk in the quicksand big time."_

…

"You're making a mistake! This is no solider; she's an escaped slave!" Atai shouts as the ISB agents put him in binders.

Sierra wipes her palms on her skirt and turns in my direction. "Are you all right, Eva?" she asks, all traces of her evil demeanor gone.

One of the ISB agents walks over to me. "Are you Cadet Eva Isis, enrolled in the naval program at the Academy on Alderaan?"

"Correct, sir." I state, snapping to attention.

A second agent with a dark ponytail and wide nose strolls up to the first and nods at Sierra. "At ease, cadet. Agent Reynolds, meet naval cadet Eva Isis and our informant Juliet Backhaus. They're responsible for this sting operation. We suspected Molec has been breaking the fine print of the slavery laws since they went into effect, but we've never been able to gather enough evidence until now. Backhaus' physical resemblance to an Inner Rim crime lady is just a plus."

"Permission to speak, agent?"

"Permission granted."

"I believe with the current charges levied against Molec, he will no longer be a threat to order in the Outer Rim."

"He'll no longer be a threat anywhere." Another officer says. "Agent Reynolds, you take Molec into custody. We'll finish the cleanup here."

Captain Rex gives me a barely detectable wink.

Reynolds snaps to attention, nods, and roughly grabs Atai by the elbows. "Come along, Molec."

"This is a mistake!" Molec shouts. "The slave is a former Jedi -."

"It's amazing what can be done with makeup and the power of suggestion," Hero, the "agent" with the ponytail, pipes up.

As the agent wrestles Atai toward the door, a sixth agent steps into the frame.

Steela Gerrera.

Winking, she looks at Atai, holds up her hand, taps her ring finger, and jerks her thumb to Captain Rex.

Atai's eyes widen and he struggles against the one legitimate ISB agent's grip. "You have this all wrong! I'm an innocent pawn in all this – _they're con men!_ Every last one of them are con men!"

"That's what they all say." Steela says, and strides over to our position.

…

 _"I understand that I'm the 'Fiddle', but what's my role in the con?" I asked Ahsoka._

 _"We're crossing the first con, the Morning After, with a second, the fiddle game," she explained. "The first part of the con involves robberies and Steela's move. The fiddle game involves you and Sierra only. You're the Fiddle, which is code for a supposedly valuable piece of merchandise. Basically, it's a nice way of saying 'bait'."_

 _Ignoring my perturbed expression, she continued. "Sierra, your confederate, is going to pretend to switch sides and offer you to Atai. He's so greedy and he wants you so badly, he'll pay whatever she asks. When the transaction goes through, the rest of us plus one legitimate ISB agent will be outside waiting to arrest him for breaking the slavery codes."_

 _I nodded. "That's well thought out. But what's Steela's role in this? Won't she be with Atai?"_

 _Ahsoka couldn't stop a minute giggle. "You'll like this. Steela is 'The Dead Girl In the Bed.'"_

…

Hero starts walking toward the door. "Let's go, everyone. We still have to do the cleanup for this _sting operation."_

 **LUX**

Once we're back on the ship, Ahsoka grabs Kira and one arm and Sierra in the other, pulls them to her chest and shouts "That was stupendous!"

"Hands down, the scariest grift I've ever done." Sierra admits. "Kira was so convincing, I had to remind myself that it wasn't real."

"You were using real names." I point out. When I first proposed the plan for the girls to use their real names during the game, Kira and Sierra nearly choked on their tongues.

 _"Are you insane?" Sierra cried. "You want me to give Atai our real names? Why can't I just use an alias?"_

 _"After you tell him he's being conned, he'll be looking for deception. The only thing that'll reach him is the truth. Think about it, Sierra. You have a lot of motives for selling us out."_

 _Kira looked sick. "I'm not sure about this, Lux. Atai could and would tell the Academy who I am."_

 _"It'll be fine, I swear." I said, even though I wasn't sure. "After we get done with him, they won't believe a word he says."_

 _"Are you forgetting the part where I will be operating_ under my real name _with a legitimate ISB agent present?" Sierra squawked. "Are you trying to get me killed?"_

 _"You say it all the time. People don't recognize things out of context; if we tell him that you're an informant who just looks like Sierra Bonteri, he'll think you're an informant who looks like Sierra Bonteri."_

Kira shivers and pulls back. "No matter how hard it was, at least we accomplished it. Atai's been taken away, and in his absence the auction will undoubtedly fall apart."

"Undoubtedly." Steela confirms. "The slave empire won't be able to recover from this quickly enough to make a profit; transitioning between kings is no easy task. Tandin knows that firsthand."

"Political upheaval always impacts the economy." Tandin says wisely. "Kira, I have to commend you on that stab. I'm no swordsman, but it looked impressive from Hutch's security feeds."

"Thank you, your Highness."

Tandin waves his hand. "None of that royalty nonsense. I'm simply Tandin here. Speaking of royalty and government, we've contacted the Zeltron Bureau of Investigation and they've matched these children to missing persons' reports. One of Senator Organa's associates will be by to pick them up within the hour."

"That's a relief." Ahsoka says.

Hutch rises from his computer and winks at Hero.

"Katooni, come with Mom and Dad. We need to have a talk," He says and beckons his daughter from her seat.

…

Assisted by a second tub of Hoth's ice cream, Bail Organa's associate led the Zeltrons away without any problems.

Ahsoka collapses on the couch next to me in the common room, followed by the rest of the team.

"It's so much quieter," Mom remarks. "I think we'll have a peaceful evening for once."

 _Thump._

Ahsoka sits up. "Did you hear that? I think it's coming from Hutch and Hero's room."

 _Thump. Thump._

Saw sighs. "I think Mina just jinxed us."

"It sounds like someone's jumping on the bed." I muse. "But they don't let Katooni jump on the -."

And then the door swishes open and Katooni shouts _"I'm going to be a big sister!"_

Realization dawns on Ahsoka's face. "Ah…"

Katooni races in and bounces up and down on the couch, energy coming off her in sheets. "Big sister big sister big sister!"

Hero, Hutch at her side, follows her daughter in. "It's official! I'm ten weeks."

"Congratulations!" Kira applauds politely.

Katooni gets down from the couch, nearly vibrating from excitement. "Dad, we should get the cake out of the freezer!"

Hutch shakes his head. "No honey, we're saving that for Mina, Ahsoka, and Mom on Mother's Day."

"We can get a new one. But right now we just finished the job, and Kira is going to say goodbye soon, and we have a new baby to celebrate."

"Kat, cake is nothing but junk food." Hutch argues.

Katooni closes her eyes and starts to sing. _"Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall. Ninety-nine bottles of beer -."_

Hero scans the rest of us. "Whoever taught my child that song better confess. Now."

I glance over to Saw, who shakes his head. Luckily, Hero doesn't see it.

 _"You take one down, pass it around, ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall! Ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-eight bottles of beer."_

Hutch's resolve snaps. "Okay, okay! I'm getting the cake out of the freezer. Are you happy now?"

For an answer, Katooni stops singing.

 **A/N: It The chapter title comes from John F. Kennedy's inaugural address, which refers to those who "Foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger" and "ended up inside." Sierra may not have ended up inside, but Atai sure did!**

 **Unlike what I erroneously told Starwarshobbitfics (sorry, friend) there is one more chapter to this story. A few more pieces still need to fall into place.**

 **Thank you to Starwarshobbitfics, McAwesome, Johnt12345, and Rose Ravenclaw for your reviews. And speaking of which, please review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	10. The Icing on the Cake

**CHAPTER TEN – THE ICING ON THE CAKE**

 **AHSOKA**

When we first found Katooni and she had woken from her drug-induced sleep into confusion and panic, Hero took her into the kitchen and fed her a cupcake to calm her down. It was at that moment, while Katooni was scarfing down the treat, that Hero knew she wanted to adopt her. It looks like she's linked cake and her daughter; all it takes is the scent of cupcakes to make Hero misty-eyed.

Katooni, too, has linked cake to something – but not to Hero. She craves it every time something good or comforting happens in her life. Case in point: When Barriss kidnapped Katooni, Hero stress ate half a box of cupcakes. Within a day of getting home, Katooni polished off the other half.

In the minds of the St. Jameses, a pregnancy announcement definitely calls for cake.

As Hutch cuts the factory-made dessert on the table, Tandin and Mina give up their honor seats at the ends of the table to Kira and Hero. I set Tav up in his high chair and put a sliver of cake on his tray, knowing more of it will be used as face paint than for its intended use.

"Hero," Steela says, pouring a glass of lemonade for herself "I think you're the only person who attacked an Inquisitor armed with only a bouquet of flowers, while-," she counts backwards on her fingers. "While six weeks pregnant, and lived to tell the tale."

"What can I say? I'm amazing." Hero says and sticks a bite of cake in her mouth. "I'll tell you what's amazing though. Kira managing to stay undercover at the Imperial Academy for two years!"

Kira blushes. "Thank you. Speaking of which, I should be getting back to Alderaan. I told my instructors I was going to Onderon for a research project."

Saw snaps his fingers. "And that's where we come in. After all your help on the job, we didn't want you to get in trouble with your commanding officers. So, we did your research project for you."

Kira's eyebrows go up. "My research project?"

Hutch grabs a holopad from Saw's hands. "Your very thorough, yet somewhat erroneous, research paper on the crew of con men terrorizing the Japrael system!"

"You wrote her paper about _us?"_ Steela squawks.

"It's mostly about Hutch and Saw." Hero says.

To prove the point, Hutch flips to a section of the paper and reads aloud. "The hacker associated with this group is only known by his hacker handle, the legendary "Cashier from Hell." This very adept individual cripples his targets' security systems, robbing them blind with a single keystroke."

"You might want to edit that," I whisper to Kira.

"Heavily." She agrees.

Saw places the datapad in front of her. "So there's your cover story. You have to write the conclusion later though; I'm really bad at conclusions."

Kira gives him a polite, if a little forced, smile. "Thank you." She says, taking the datapad. "I don't mean to doubt your work at all, but how can we ensure that Atai isn't released on bail or the charges are dropped."

"Kira, are you familiar with the laws of nature?" Steela asks.

Kira nods. _"Kill or be killed, eat or be eaten."_

"There's a third." Steela says. _"Don't mess with Mina Bonteri's children._ And in her book, all children are her children."

In her chair, Mina takes a long and slow sip of caf from her favorite mug.

"They're right to call me BonScary," is all she says.

…

 _Meanwhile, at one of the Empire's most secure prisons, a Zygerrian man is shoved into a two-person cell._

 _"You can't do this!" he shouted. "I am the King of Zygerria and the instant I walk out of here, I'll send you all to the mines!"_

 _"So, you broke the slavery code?" his cellmate asks._

 _Atai scoffs. "Silence."_

 _The other man jumps off his bunk. "Warden Torrance. I broke the Imperial statutes regarding advanced interrogation. Still want to get fresh with me?"_

 _Atai Molec knows when to self-preserve, and he wisely changes tack. "My apologies, Warden."_

 _"That's better." Tor sits down on his bunk. "So, do you have any chance at appeal?"_

 _Before Atai can answer, a guard comes to the door and places a package in the food slot. "Delivery for Mr. Torrance."_

 _Tor grabs the package and tears the wrapping off, revealing a holorecorder. He presses the button to begin the recording._

"Five thousand and she's all yours." The voice of Sierra Bonteri says. "You know as well as I do that everyone is bought and sold, Kira. And I'm sorry, but today it's going to be you."

"Five thousand? For one slave? That's highway robbery."

"I'm a thief, that's what I do. At any rate, that's the amount Torrance spent on me."

"He's a fool. He always was. He neglected perfectly good business opportunities to pursue his own sadistic vendetta. I would be surprised if he had a brain in his head."

 _Tor shuts off the recording and turn to Atai._

 _"Tell me,"_ he demands. _"Is that the sound of you insulting me and doing business with Sierra kriffing Bonteri?"_

…

"All I had to do was take over a secretary's HoloMail account with a little help from Hutch to transfer Atai to Tor's cell and then deliver the recording from the security footage," Mina says and sips her caf again.

"I never thought he would ever come in handy," I admit. "Just out of curiosity, how much did we net for this job?"

Lux smiles. "A pretty good chunk of credits. And Kira, this is for you."

He hands Kira the receipt for a credit deposit and her eyes bulge when she sees the amount.

"I can't accept this." She stammers.

"We didn't give it to you; you earned it." Lux says. "That deposit is a compensation payment for eight years of wages that Atai owes to you. We factored in ten-hour days and seven-day weeks at the average hourly wage for a maid, and came up with … that."

"I don't know what to say," Kira breathes, unable to take her eyes off her money. "Thank you. Thank you very much."

"Don't thank us. Thank Atai. He's the one who footed the bill for it." Steela says. "I was merely the collections agent."

…

 _After she knocked Atai out with Tandin's sleeping draught, Steela opened her briefcase and pulled out an enormous sack._

 _"All right," she said to herself. "Let's get this party started."_

 _She deftly cleared out all of Atai's precious possessions: the art, the jewels and precious metals, and the expensive wines and liquors. When all of those had been taken care of, she walked along the wall, tapping it, until she heard a hollow ring near one of the paintings._

 _"He could think of a better place to hide a wall safe," she mused, removed the hidden panel, and pressed her ear to the lock in order to crack it._

…

"It's not like he's going to miss any of his stuff anyway." Saw pointed out.

"That'll put a dent in your expenses." I say, gently elbowing Kira.

"And the next year's." Kira stands. "It's been a pleasure working with you all, but my leave at the Academy will expire tomorrow."

"Of course, dear." Mina says. "I pressed your uniform for you; it's on your bed as we speak."

 **KIRA**

"You're sure you want to go back to the Academy?" Sierra asks. "I can have Hutch cook up something to make it look like you transferred."

"As tempting as that may be, Senator Organa is counting on me." I say, buttoning up the front of my uniform.

"Well, if you change your mind the offer still stands." She says and crosses her arms. "Ahsoka said she wants to see you in here alone, so I'd better get going. Good grifting. And thanks for putting up with all the hogwash I gave you."

"You too."

Sierra walks out of the room and Ahsoka comes in on her heels.

"Here," Ahsoka says and fastens something around my neck. "I want you to have this."

I examine the charm. It's a circular silver pendant inscribed with an Onderonian symbol.

"It's a Unifras medallion," she explains. "I know you don't have the same religion as the rest of us, but it'll help to build your cover story. Also, I hope it'll protect you."

"Thank you," I say, dropping the medal against my breastbone.

Ahsoka sighs. "Be careful, Kira."

"I will," I say and bow to her like the Jedi I am and she once was. "May the force be with you."

The motion is foreign, as if she hasn't done it in a long time, but Ahsoka bows to me. "And also with you."

…

"Good luck, Kira." Saw says and holds his palm out in front of him expectantly. Steela clears her throat and Saw switches to a handshake.

"May the force be with you," Steela says, offering her hand to shake as well.

"With you and your team as well," I say. "I hope we meet again someday."

"We'll get Hutch to track you down," she smirks. "Isn't that right?"

"Heck yeah," Hutch turns from his computer. "Kira, if you ever need something, just call me up." He says. "And I'll find you."

"And I'll bake a cake for the occasion. Just try to do it in the next few months." Hero says, "Before we have two kids to worry about."

I smile at her. "Congratulations, all of you. Katooni, you're going to be a wonderful big sister."

A bite of cake freezes on its way to Katooni's mouth. "Mom, can Kira be my Jedi master when I get older?"

"We'll see, Katooni." Hutch answers, sparing me from any awkward explanations.

Rex is next in line. "It was a pleasure working with you again, Commander Narro."

"You too, Rex." I remember something Ahsoka told me to say "Before I go, I'd like to wish you luck on your relationship with Steela."

Steela pales. "Not you too!"

Saw cackles. "We'll make sure to invite you to the wedding!"

I allow the joke to simmer down before proceeding to Lux.

"Give Jim my regards when you see him next," he says, slightly distracted by Tavin toddling around our legs. "Say bye-bye, Tav."

"Bye-bye!" Tav chirps. "Bye-bye, Kiwa!"

His childish attempt to say my name melts my heart. "Bye-bye, Tav."

Tav toddles away and Mina and Tandin nod to me.

"Good to meet you, Kira." Mina says. "Thank you for all your help."

I fix my cap on my head. "Thank you for helping Senator Organa and I take down the Zygerrian slave empire. That'll put quite a dent in the slave trade, and it means the universe to me. Thank you."

"You're welcome. It does to all of us as well." Mina replies.

"That's the truth," Ahsoka says as she opens the boarding ramp and the Alderaanian sun shines in. "Good luck, Kira. "You're such a good grifter I doubt this'll be the last time we cross paths."

"Hopefully it'll be under good circumstances." I give the group one final look. "Goodbye, everyone."

I walk down the ramp through the chorus of goodbyes and choose the quickest route to the exit. If I walk quickly, I should make it to the Academy before lights-out.

"Hey!"

I turn to see Sierra jogging down the boarding ramp. When she reaches the base, she tosses something into the air.

I catch it: a balled-up piece of flimsi with a comm number scribbled on it.

"For emergencies!" Sierra calls.

I pocket the flimsi and smile at her. "I'll keep it close."

"See you later, Eva!" Sierra waves and hurries up the ramp. It closes behind her right before the ship's engines ignite.

I tuck the flimsi into my breast pocket and watch as the ship flies away. Then I take a deep breath and continue on my way to the Imperial Academy, my credits, the medallion, and the con men's number safe in my pocket.

Everything considered, the mission was a success. Atai is behind bars, the Zeltrons are home, and everyone was paid today. There's only one thing I would change.

I wish Cadena could have seen this.

But as I walk back to the Academy, it occurs to me that wherever she is, Cadena probably can.

 **A/N: I would be lying if I said I wasn't sad to see it go, but this is the conclusion to "While Others Were Left Breathless."**

 **I'd like to thank everyone who read and reviewed this story, but an even larger thanks is in order for MusicKeeper, for letting me borrow her OC and, you know, letting me do this; as well as to katieroseful for giving her permission for Cadena to appear.**

 **As for the next story, I actually have a release date. On May 4th, in honor of both May the Fourth be with You and my one-year anniversary on this site, "Dating in the Dark Times" will be up!**

 **Thank you to starwarshobbitfics, Johnt12345, Rose Ravenclaw, McAwesome, and Starlight Moon Midnight for your reviews. And speaking of which, please review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


End file.
